


Façades & Fabricated Feelings

by ghostiewriter101



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Angst, British!JJ, College AU, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Football!JJ, Frat/Sorority AU, Fratboy!JJ, Idiots in Love, Jiara January 2021, Mutual Pining, Some regards of violence, Some spicy moments in there, SororitygirlKiara, didn't originally have smut but hey ho the kiss scene escalated, jiara smut, mentions of cheating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 47,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostiewriter101/pseuds/ghostiewriter101
Summary: When Kiara Carrera is hit with an unexpected visit from her parents, she’s forced to take dramatic measures to repel them from her college life. Her amazing solution happens to lie in a fake boyfriend. And that fake boyfriend happens to be no other than JJ Maybank, the British scholarship student who she just so happens to be mortal enemies with. What’s the worst that can happen?
Relationships: JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 67
Collections: Jiara January 2021





	1. Recruiting the fake boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> this is my jiara january fic that I hope you all enjoy! The catalyst for the British!Obx fandom so hope you lads enjoy it. I am planning to split this into three parts for the sake of the story flowing better and so that it isn’t like a 30k+ one shot, so the next two chapters will soon follow! But yeah, enjoy British!JJ

Kiara Carrera had spent her whole life feeling trapped.

Being the daughter of one of the most influential company owners in the country tends to attract a lot of attention. And that attention leads to rules and regulations and rotas to follow so that you don’t embarrass yourself or the family name to the general public. Kiara would never want to do that. She loved her family, she truly did. So she did what they said and played by the rules.

But very quickly, Kiara picked up on the fact that she _hated_ it. She desired to have a normal life where she could spend time with her friends without having to worry about what people may think or if someone could use her actions against her family reputation. She wanted to experience everything a normal kid would in their life. But she never could.

That was until college came around.

The past eighteen years she had spent under her parents’ watch, where they had a close eye on her and never let her wander or stray from their control. She legally couldn’t, she was a minor and had no real power in the world. So when college came about, Kiara saw this as an opportunity to snatch her freedom, to escape the caged life she had been living.

It took a lot of compromise and promises (mostly just agreeing to attend the odd gala or formal charity event to keep her mother happy) but Kiara didn't care too much if it meant her parents agreed to let her go across the country for college. They allowed her four years of independence and freedom until she would eventually return to take on her role in the family business. Kiara never really thought about the details or consequences to her actions, she just saw the opportunity and jumped for it.

Three years have passed since then. Now, Kiara was a junior in college, majoring in business and economics with a minor in journalism, basking in her freedom and living her best life. Her parents, respecting her wishes, tended to let Kiara keep her college life and family life separate. She didn’t hide who she was, she knew that her family was well-known and therefore she was too, to an extent. But she didn’t want that to influence her experience. It meant that any trips to visit were usually Kiara flying over to them, rather than vice versa.

The point was that Kiara had her life under control – both her college life and her home life. Everything was the way it should be, just the way she liked it. She had lasted almost three years like this, and she intended to continue on this path.

However, Kiara would soon come to learn that her junior year was going to be a far ride from predictable and smooth. The upcoming term was about to turn into a shit show that she wasn’t ready for.

“I don’t know, I think Professor Newman has a soft spot for me.”

Kiara thanked the barista as she accepted her cappuccino before she turned to her friend, a look mixed between amusement and confusion etched on her face. “Oh really?” She deadpanned, waiting for the other to grab her drink before they began to head towards the main courtyard.

“Yeah, I mean…he’s never outwardly been rude to me or called on me in class, so that has to count for something, right? I think I might just be his favourite student,” She chirped happily, sipping away at her drink – an iced latte, as though they weren’t in the middle of January and it wasn’t freezing.

Tess Murray was the epitome of sunshine and rainbows and everything good embodied into a human. The sweetest girl you will ever meet, but also the most naive. Kiara loved her, she truly did. She was a short girl who made up for her lack of height with her massive personality. With bright coloured hair that changed as often as the weather, extravagant makeup looks for everyday occasions and a smile so wide that Kiara could’ve sworn she had no muscles in her cheeks (how could someone smile that much?). She was the type of girl that everyone could get along with, that everyone knew would be there for them. She was Kiara’s first friend and roommate when she first started college and now their friendship had gone on for three years strong – and, Kiara hoped, for many more years to come.

“I’m sure you are. The permanent frown carved into his face just screams favouritism.” Kiara snorted, shaking her head as Tess continued on to rave about the biology professor, unaware of the sarcasm in the other’s voice. 

Coming into college, Kiara wasn’t sure what to expect. She had seen the movies and all that, and while admittedly, basing her college life on _22 Jump Street_ was probably not a great idea, she thought she got the general gist. So when she showed up on the first day and saw that maybe movies…exaggerated the experience, it was disappointing. It seemed Tess felt similarly, and that was how Kiara and her new roommate found themselves beer in hand at their first college party, hoping to get some of that movie magic experience. Squeezed between strangers with music blasting so loud that she could barely hear herself think, Kiara assumed that this was the closest to the movies she would get. But during her journey to discover a bathroom on that fateful night, the young brunette had overheard some older students talking about frat and sorority inaugurations. And that, my friends, is how Kiara Carrera found herself joining a sorority.

She had seen movies like _Legally Blonde_ and _House Bunny_ to know how sororities worked. There was a small doubt in her mind that this was something she would regret, it was so different from the life she knew. But that ended up being the reason she loved it. Kiara loved her sorority and the girls in it, they had become some of her closest friends, funnily enough you could even go as far as saying that she considered them her sisters.

Except, there was one sorority sister that she could never see eye-to-eye to. No matter how hard Kiara tried over the years, this girl only seemed to further convince Kiara that she was the spawn of Satan.

Scarlet Sinclair—the worst person that Kiara had ever met and coincidentally, the newly appointed head of the Kappa Alpha Kappa Sorority.

The same heinous bitch that was glaring at Kiara and Tess as they approached the courtyard, heading towards the benches the other sisters had claimed for their weekly meeting.

“You’re late.” Scarlet snipped as the two took their seats, Tess seeming ready to open her mouth and spout what Kiara was sure was a heartfelt apology, but she bet her to it.

“Oh no, how will the world move on now that the meeting has been postponed by a _whole two minutes_!” She deadpanned, hand over her chest. “I’m so sorry, Scarlet, I don’t know how we could be so selfish.”

Scarlet glared at Kiara, and she simply glared back. A few seconds passed, the redhead eventually letting out a huff and carrying on with the meeting. That was how it always worked, the dynamic between the two of them was snappy and borderline rude but never passing that line. They always seemed to toe the line of going against sorority rules, but they always made sure they never overstepped. No broken rules, no consequences. It would sometimes create an awkward tension with the other sisters, especially after the first snarky exchange, but over the years they have learnt—even Tess—not to get involved.

Kiara was barely paying attention as Scarlet spoke, there had been nothing of interest in these meetings anyways. It was always the same: remember that all are to attend the game tonight, all sisters are expected to attend the after-party held at the student union, remember that all sisters are expected to abide by sorority rules and regulations as every other term and to think of some ideas for the Valentine’s Day Bash (sorority duty to organise it with Alpha Theta boys).

It was boring and repetitive but _that_ Kiara could deal with, it was a little damper on her day but nothing huge. Of course the universe decided that it wasn’t enough, and it just so happened that near the end of their sorority catch-up, some guests decided to crash it.

“Hope you girls are talking about the game tonight.” The first voice spoke up, belonging to Rafe Cameron—the head of the Alpha Theta fraternity that their sorority was very buddy-buddy with.

“We want our favourite girls there when we kick their stupid little Beaver asses.” The second voice spoke up, this time belonging to Topper Thornton. Rafe’s right hand man.

Kiara couldn’t help but scoff a little when she heard a few girls giggling, their attention completely drawn away from Scarlet and now on the boys. It was mostly the younger, naïve sisters that batted their eyelashes and wasted time fawning over boys like Rafe and Topper. Notorious for killer parties and hooking you up with the biggest kegs you could ever imagine, but definitely nowhere near as reliable in the lady companionship zone. Frankly, they are what they seem—like you’re typical frat boys. She had known them for as long as she attended this college, having been in the year above her, they had built quite the reputation in their time and really upped the status of the Alpha Theta fraternity. Honestly, Kiara didn’t mind Rafe and Topper too much. Both came from old-money families and had a similar upbringing to her, they were just a little more stuck-up about it. But she could tolerate them. They weren’t the issue.

“Of course they wouldn’t miss the game, you twats, not when I’ll be there.” An unbelievably arrogant third voice spoke up. 

_He_ was the issue.

JJ Maybank—brought here on a sports scholarship from England, captain of the currently highest ranking college soccer team in the state, notorious ladies’ man with his stupidly charming accent and the bane of Kiara’s existence.

And he felt just as strongly about her. Their rivalry on campus was infamous. Rumours and whispers passed around about how it came to be, how they were total opposites of one another in more ways than one, how neither seemed able to stand the other, how Kiara Carrera and JJ Maybank were mortal enemies. 

Maybe that was taking it a bit too far, but the point was there.

They didn’t like each other, maybe even go as far as saying strongly dislike. And Kiara didn’t see herself changing that fact anytime soon.

“I mean, what is the team without the captain?” Scarlet said with a sickly sweet smile on her lips, seeming to fall under the same stupid spell the younger sisters were under as JJ casually threw his arm over her shoulder. Scarlet had been JJ’s latest conquest, and much to everyone’s surprise the redhead was putting up a fight. She will bat her eyes, flash him a smile but the second he tries something, she steps back. She is playing the ‘hard to get’ card and JJ is definitely hooked. Kiara could only laugh at Scarlet’s feasible attempts to keep the college golden boy under her control before he inevitably moves on to someone else. But her snickers seemed to catch the blond’s attention.

“Forget to comb the bird’s nest on your head this morning, Carrera?” He said with that infuriating smirk on his face, the same ones that the college populace deemed attractive. _How stupid_ , she thought to herself.

“Forget to pick up a brain this morning, Maybank?” She retorted, sending a sarcastic smile his way. She was not going to let him ruin her morning, or at least that is what she told herself.

“Ooh, she’s got a kick in her today.” He teased, eyes trailing over her appearance like he was picking the next thing to annoy her about. That or he was shamelessly checking her out. Both were viable options. “Will you be at the game tonight?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you want to know?”

“You could be our secret weapon,” He grinned at her. “ ‘m sure you’d give the other lads a bloody fright if you showed your face, Medusa.” He snickered, a few of the girls joining him. God, it was like he had them under his little spell.

“So you’re saying you need my help to win?” She countered, a seemingly innocent smile tugging on her lips. “Maybe your team should really reconsider who they make their captain, some questionable judgement on their part.”

His expression dropped a little. “Oh please, tonight will be a bloody walk in the park.” He scoffed.

“Yeah, _Kiara_ , don’t discourage the team!” Scarlet snipped at her, and she had to resist rolling her eyes.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She answered with the fakest smile she could muster, but Scarlet just hummed in acceptance. It seemed like she didn’t want to get into a full on cat fight with the boys around.

“Anyways,” Topper spoke up, giving a quick glance to his watch before turning to the other two. “We should get going, Coach will be on our asses if we are late again.”

“Well, it was lovely seeing you ladies,” JJ said charmingly. “Hope to see you tonight, especially you, love.” He said more directly towards Scarlet who was almost the same shade as her hair. Kiara gagged a little, Tess snickering at her response as the boys dragged JJ away from the benches and headed towards the stadium.

“I’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than hear his stupid voice every again.” She huffed out, arms crossed over chest as she stared blankly at the now cold coffee sitting in front of her.

“That’s a tad dramatic.” Tess commented, but quickly retracted her statement when she noticed the pointed look Kiara sent her.

“He’s an arrogant, self-absorbed, ridiculous asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else and—”

“Is also the only person who can actually keep up with you?” Tess pointed out, quickly shutting Kiara up. “You guys are made for each other in a…’we were meant to be enemies’ kind of way, you know? It’s actually quite sweet, if you think about it in a purely sadistic way.”

“As if,” Kiara scoffed. “Out of all the American colleges and he gets put here! Him and his stupid accent…he’s just a knock off Harry Styles, why do people like that?!” The comment only seemed to amuse Tess further. However, their conversation was cut short when a perfectly manicured hand slammed down on the table in front of them.

“I don’t care what petty little thing you’ve got going on against _my_ JJ,” Scarlet seethed through clenched teeth. “But I swear to all that is holy, if you ruin this sorority’s rep because _you_ can’t control yourself around the Alpha Theta boys, I will have to take drastic measures to protect the sorority.”

Kiara pressed her lips together, trying to contain her laughter. Talk about possessive much, huh? This girl had some serious territorial issues. “Control myself?”

“From one sister to another, let me give you some advice. It’s pathetic when you throw yourself at a guy like that,” Scarlet muttered, a look of mock sympathy on her face. “Especially a guy like JJ Maybank. You don’t stand a chance.”

Kiara stared at her for a few seconds before she burst out laughing, leaning on Tess for support as she tried to get words out in between gasps of air. “You…me…JJ?” She took a few deep breaths, taking a moment to wipe away the stray tears and bask in the redhead’s dumbfounded expression.

“The day I ever find myself being like one of the stupid little girls that chase after JJ and think they have a chance is the day hell freezes over.” Kiara said more seriously before grabbing her backpack and swinging it over her shoulder. “Trust me, Scarlet, he’s all yours.”

She muttered a quick ‘see you later’ to Tess before grabbing her abandoned coffee cup, giving the redhead one last fake smile before pushing past her, dumping the coffee cup in the bin on her way towards her first class.

As if she would ever be one of JJ Maybank’s little admirers! It was a joke, one that made Kiara snort to herself at the mere thought of it. There was no situation she could ever think of that would lead her to be civil with JJ, let alone throw herself at him. Truly, pigs would have to fly. Or maybe the dinosaurs make a little return for part two of their domination over the planet. The point was clear though, Kiara’s mind set in stone.

Nothing or nobody could ever make her feel anything but distaste and repugnance for JJ Maybank.

“YOU’RE WHAT?!”

_“Kiara, it really isn’t a big deal.”_

Her mouth was agape, hand clenching the phone between her fingers as she listened to her mother’s voice on the other side. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Anything but _this._

“Actually, mother, it _is_ a big deal!” Kiara seethed. “We had a deal, now you and dad are breaking that deal!”

_“Are you really bringing up some childish deal we made years ago?”_

“Yes! Yes, I am! I had to go to thirteen stupid company galas last year because of that _childish deal_. What company requires thirteen galas, huh?” She scoffed, her mind racing with a million different thoughts. She could feel her nails digging into her palm, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had started drawing some blood. At least it would stop her from punching a wall, that would be a little harder to explain…or cover up.

_“You are nineteen years old, Kiara, soon twenty. It’s time you start acting like an adult and stop being so…ludicrous.”_

“I can’t believe you right now.” She scoffed.

_“It’s only a short stay, Kiara. Plus, if I am paying for my daughter’s education, I would at least like to know if it’s worth the fuss you make.”_

“This was exactly the thing I wanted to avoid! You and dad coming here, attracting unwanted attention and sticking your noses into business that definitely doesn’t need your noses in it!” Kiara sighed helplessly.

She knew what this would lead to, she knew how her parents worked. You see, Kiara’s desire to keep her parents away from her college life was about more than just her selfish wish to keep this aspect of her life just _hers._ It was because Mr and Mrs Carrera had a finnicky habit of not knowing when to switch their brains from business mode to family mode.

Kiara had seen it happen countless times again and again.

When she was five, she invited her parents to her ballet recital so they could see how much she had learnt. They ended up completely disgusted that their daughter wasn’t the main dancer and ended up buying the dance studio over and hiring new teachers that would do their bidding. Kiara eventually quit ballet, even at a young age she could feel the judgement and glares being sent her way when the sweet old lady who ran the classes was replaced with some mean Russian instructor that was a renowned ballerina.

When she was eleven, she invited her parents to her middle school science fair. Kiara had created a whole presentation on climate change and the future of Earth if they as a species didn’t do something about it. She made it all by herself, even using recycled paper and plastic bottles for her poster and display. She didn’t really care about the competition if she was being honest, she was just glad her parents had taken time out of their busy schedule to attend. But of course, when she was given the third place title, her parents kicked off and had almost half the schoolboard replaced. Kiara never entered the science fair again.

When she was seventeen, Kiara went through a bit of a musical theatre phase. It just so happened that the school were running their own rendition of ‘High School Musical’. Kiara was ecstatic, she loved the series as a child and obviously she would love to do it for the school show that year. It was her first year auditioning, and she was beyond surprised and grateful to get the role of Kelsey. She bought two tickets, left them on her parents’ desks and hoped to see them on opening night. They showed up, they were not happy and they caused a scene.

Seeing a theme here?

Kiara’s parents could never get involved in any aspect of her life without ruining it. It was just a fact. She had tried many times in the past, giving them the benefit of the doubt every single time. But they never changed.

However, she was older now and a lot more stubborn. She loved college, even with all its flaws and mishaps. But that is what made her experience authentic, the way she wanted it to be. It’s why she made the deal with her parents in the first place. Now, she was getting a call from her mother about a potential business deal happening with a huge company that would be taking place in the same _fucking_ town she is in. They didn’t even bother to hide it from her, fly in and do their business and leaving before she noticed.

Oh no.

In classic Anna Carrera fashion, her mother wanted to make a whole ordeal about it, including dragging Kiara to some of these meetings for the days they were here and being adamant she show the same curtsey to them with her college life. Kiara hated it. She hated it so damn much because she knew she couldn’t do anything about it. She was just going to have to sit back and watch her parents ruin the one part of her life they couldn’t touch until now. She would just have to watch.

_“Kiara, respect your elders! I am your mother, not one of your little sorority sisters. The decision is final. I expect you to join your father and I for dinner the night we land. Wear something nice—and no jeans, please.”_

And then she hung up.

Kiara let out a huff, throwing her phone onto her bed as she ran her hands over her face, resisting the urge to grab a pillow and scream into it until she passed out. She hadn’t even managed three years here until her mother came and ruined it. Just her luck, truly. The Kiara Carrera curse.

She flopped back onto her bed, blankly staring at the ceiling when she heard someone knocking on the door. She let out a small sigh, already knowing from the tentative knocks who was on the other side.

“Come in.”

Tess peeked her head around the door, wincing a little when she saw the exasperated look on Kiara’s face. She quickly slipped into the room, closing the door behind her before she took a seat on her bed, by her feet.

“That bad?” She asked softly.

“Worse.”

Tess sighed, placing a comforting hand on Kiara’s ankle as the girl started to recall the whole conversation with her mother, starting with the snide comments her mother made about the pictures she sent last week of her at the game (she was all wrapped up but _apparently_ appearance means more than potentially catching hypothermia) to the demand that she have dinner with them when they arrive in the next few days.

“Your mother is…something else.” Tess muttered, the other nodding her head in agreement.

“She and my dad are going to ruin everything!” Kiara cried as she sat up, the pout on her face only making the ‘whiny child’ look a bit more believable. But she didn’t care, she will whine if she wants to. It might be her last chance to whine to Tess before everything goes to shit. “Maybe I should just drop out, save everyone else while I can.”

“Don’t be silly,” Tess said with a soft smile, gently nudging her shoulder. But when Kiara didn’t smile back, she realised that she was completely serious about the ‘dropping out’ idea. “It’s a shame there isn’t a way to like…scare your parents away from your college life.” She joked lightly, hoping that would cheer her up. Instead, she saw Kiara’s eyes instantly light up.

“Tess, you genius!” Kiara exclaimed, jumping off the bed as she stood in front of the other, an excited smile on her face.

“Oh! Yes!” Tess said before her eyebrows furrowed together. “Uh…why exactly am I genius?” Her voice timid and soft.

“Because you’re right! I just have to scare my parents away enough that they want as little to do with my college life but not enough to rip me out and shut the place down!” She said with a massive grin as though her words weren’t disheartening or more complicated that what they seemed.

“And how exactly do we scare your parents away?”

Kiara began to pace around her room, lips pressed together in deep thought. She needed something that would really get under her parents’ skin, something that would make them so uncomfortable that they distance themselves.

“I could join a gang?” Kiara suggested.

“Uh…yeah, maybe not.”

“OH! I wear an eyepatch and tell them I have converted to piratism.”

“That isn’t a thing.”

“I could tell them I’m planning on running away with crazy heavy metal band to officially become their groupie and that I may or may not be in love with the lead guitarist who also happens to be already married!”

“Subtly really isn’t in your vocabulary, is it?”

Kiara let out a huff, flopping back down on her bed beside Tess, once again finding herself staring at the ceiling. This was much harder than she assumed. “Well, you got any better ideas?”

“It needs to be something subtle…something you parents won’t find fishy but will perceive as a…phase,” She began to mutter, causing Kiara to stare at her oddly. “You need something that they assume is just a college thing…a bad mistake…OH YOU NEED A SHITTY BOYFRIEND!”

Kiara stared at her. She blinked. Then blinked once again.

“Yeah no, you’ve lost me.”

“No, no, think about it!” Tess grinned as she turned to sit on her knees so that she could face Kiara. “Bad boyfriend is the solution to your problem! You just find someone so that you know your parents would hate, someone they would never approve of. You make it out like you’re in love, you are certain it’s going to last. What can they do? They don’t want their daughter running away with some random dude but they also won’t be breathing down your neck because they want to avoid these ‘unworthy’ people you’ve associated with. BOOM! Your welcome.”

Kiara’s lips parted, partially in awe of how genius the plan was but also at just how much a wee mastermind Tess was, very unexpected but very welcomed. The plan was so stupid and obscure that it might just work. 

“You fucking genius!” Kiara grinned as she tackled the girl into a hug, both laughing as they fell off the side of the bed and landed on the carpeted floor. Tess let out a small huff as she pushed the other off her, both of them splayed out on the ground, grinning at each other.

“Now, we just have to find you the perfect ‘not perfect’ boyfriend.” Tess commented, wiggling her eyebrows.

“How am I going to find someone to play my fake unworthy boyfriend?” Kiara huffed out a laugh, the sentence sounded weirder out loud than it did in her head. “I mean, it needs someone be someone irritating and infuriating and the complete opposite of what they’d want me with…”

“Hey, you have a couple of days to work it out!” Tess comforted. “Now, c’mon, we should start getting ready before Scarlet kicks our asses.”

“Scarlet has her head so far stuck up her own ass, I doubt she will notice.”

Tess rolled her eyes, now kneeling beside Kiara and offering her hand. “Yeah, yeah, she’s a witch. Now let’s go, I plan on drinking enough until the emotional trauma of that last biology test is burned out of me.”

With a sigh, Kiara took her hand and pulled herself up. Tess was right, she has got time to stress about the fake boyfriend situation later. For now, she has plenty of sorority duties to focus on and a redhead to make sure she doesn’t piss off.

“JJ! JJ! JJ! JJ!”

The crowd cheered when JJ felt himself being lifted up by some of his team members, whoops and congratulations echoing around him, coming from so many different directions (loudly as well) that he could barely keep up. One thing for sure was that the grin on his face hadn’t disappeared since his last goal of the game, allowing the team and JJ to win with a hattrick in their bag and a complete humiliation of the other team. JJ loved wins like that, a real confidence booster and a good de-stressor. He knew they would win anyways, the game was probably one of the last they could play leisurely but that didn’t stop Coach and the team from piling slaps of pride and joy on his back.

The praise hadn’t stopped there. Every player he passed, every professor or student that was watching the game, even the parents that were up in the bleachers. Everyone he came across was treating him like a god, not that he minded too much. It was great for his ego.

The second he had entered the union, the chants of his names began and a beer was being thrusted into his hand for him to chug down in record time. He loved it, he was basking in the glory. He let them chant his name, he let the boys hike him up and parade him around on their shoulders, let the girls throw themselves at him. Because this was the life JJ Maybank knew, the one he got with the scholarship and expectation to be the best of the best. After all, they scouted him for his abilities so he better not give them a reason to regret their decision.

“OUR BRITISH BEAST FROM THE EAST!”

JJ’s nose scrunched up, tapping the shoulders of his teammates so they could put him down now. “Oh bloody hell, call me anything but that!” He barked out a laugh—he was definitely laughing through the cringe.

“You _were_ a beast out there though.” A voice said before JJ felt an arm being thrown over his shoulders. He turned to give John B a grin.

“Oh, I know I was.” He replied, a small scoff coming from Pope who muttered some half-hearted comment about how cocky he was, but there was a smile on his face. “Just you wait and see, lads, we’re on a straight road to regionals and I have no plan in losing anytime soon.”

“Not straight.” Pope piped up, taking a sip of his drink. JJ only snorted in response, throwing his arm over Pope’s shoulders, the blond now pressed between the two of them.

“Well my friend, this shall be the only time you are straight because I don’t plan on scraping it to the finals. Go big or go home, boys! Get with it.” JJ exclaimed.

John B and Pope were some of the first people JJ met when he first moved over from England—John B being his assigned ‘buddy’ to help him around and Pope being his roommate. It was a huge move, everything was different here. It was difficult, he would admit that, but the two boys by his side always helped him out. They were his safety net in a sense, there to help him not make a fool of himself when he took a few weeks to pick up the American lingo. He was beyond thankful for them.

And somehow, JJ had managed to convince them to join the Alpha Theta fraternity. He was told about it during practice in one of his first weeks, most of his teammates were members and it seemed that in the past year, the frat’s reputation had majorly improved from the dump it used to be the previous years. If anything, JJ was curious. He had heard stories about frats, seen the movies back home. He wanted to see what it was like, plus he would be spending a lot of time with his teammates so might as well get in their good graces, right? So right in the first term, he dragged Pope and John B to the Alpha Theta house and became pledges with them.

It’s all been history since then. They joined, the three of them got closer and now JJ loved the two of them like brothers, the ones he never had. JJ had friends, plenty of them. With his status as football captain, he had his teammates and his popularity and his frat brothers. He was in by no means lonely, but it was different with Pope and John B. He didn’t feel overwhelmed by them, he didn’t feel the need to put up a front with them. They were John B and Pope. They didn’t need him to be anyone expect himself, and that was something he did cherish even if he never outwardly told them. But they knew because they felt the same towards him.

“Is Sarah coming?” Pope asked as the boys began heading towards the bar to grab some more drinks, the night was young and he didn’t plan on stopping until he knew he would get his ass kicked by Coach tomorrow when he shows up to training hungover.

“Yeah, she said she had to stop by her folks’ place but then she would be on her way over.” John B answered, ordering three beers before turning back to the others. Pope and JJ nodded in response, the conversation dying down a little as they watched the people around them, cheering on some shitty game of beer pong going on a couple of feet away with some freshmen who probably just wanted to prove themselves.

That was roughly how most of JJ’s night went: wandering between people who wanted to talk about his epic win, loitering by the bar to grab another beer before he would lose himself in the crowd once again. Music blasting, people screaming, bodies dancing. What more could you really ask for?

He was pressed up between a couple of girls when he noticed her for the first time that night, standing by the bar with a slightly disconcerting look on her face as she scanned the crowd. JJ found his eyes never leaving her figure as he watched her accept the drink from the bartender—a rum and coke, as usual—before she returned to her analysis of the student union. He watched her type something on her notes, eyebrows furrowed together before going back to people watching.

“What are you up to, Carrera?” He murmured to himself, receiving some odd glances from the people around him but JJ had stopped caring about them. His eyes were purely focused on Kiara as she finally stood up from the bar, muttering something to Tess who JJ only just noticed was standing beside her, before she began pushing her way through the crowd.

JJ should’ve known better, like they always said, curiosity killed the cat. But satisfaction also brought it back. So in his buzzed state, he found himself manoeuvring through the crowd, eyes stuck on her figure as she disappeared up the side stairs of the union. He gave half-assed responses to the people who tried to catch his attention before he ventured up the stairs, not too worried about someone following him. The stairs led up to the roof of the union—a place notorious for the stoners to disappear to or for people to cry their eyes out when they have had a particularly bad night.

Unsurprisingly, Kiara was neither smoking nor crying when the door quietly clicked shut behind him, a soft puff leaving his lips when he was hit with the sudden chilliness of the January night. A part of him regretted leaving his jacket back at the frat house, but it was the last thought on his mind when he spotted Kiara standing by the edge of the roof.

He noted that she had changed from what she had on earlier. Her hair was now in some half up-half down style, it was all braided and fancy and JJ didn’t really understand how on earth someone could make something look that detailed with their hair but then again, he never really had to bother much with his. Her casual clothes were now replaced with some jeans and he noticed that she was wearing one of the general football jerseys the college sold at the gift shop—he knew that because of the _‘Go, Stags, Go!’_ lettering on the back. She also wasn’t wearing a jacket, but unlike him she didn’t seem to bothered by the cold. In fact, JJ would say she looked quite content as she stood there, looking at the streets below.

“Is there a reason you’re following me, Maybank?” She called out, her gaze never leaving the view below. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, he thought he was being pretty sneaky but clearly not.

He stopped right beside her, glancing over her before he looked out at the view. “I wasn’t following you, love, don’t flatter yourself.” He stated with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

“Whatever you say,” She replied, her voice void from her usual level of sarcasm and judgement. “You’re no Sherlock though, wouldn’t be quitting your day job anytime soon.”

He huffed out a small laugh, shaking his head. “You went to the game.” He stated, turning back to look at her jersey before his eyes travelled back to her face.

“Sorority duties.” She replied quite bluntly.

JJ frowned, now fully turning his body to her. “Alright, who shoved a stick up your arse?” He scoffed, looking at her expectantly. She briefly turned her gaze to him, looking far too serious for his liking.

“What?”

“Not one bloody insult since I’ve been up here, not one. You’ve either completely lost your ability to insult a man’s ego or something has got your knickers in a twist.” He said, eyebrows drawn together. “No, seriously, this is weirding me out. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Wow, Maybank, didn’t peg you as the kind of guy to get all hot and bothered by a few insults. So desperate to be humiliated.” She commented dryly. “Didn’t know I had that effect on you.”

He felt on edge, like that crawling sensation of fear you get just before you know a jump scare is about to happen. He was waiting for it, for Kiara to snap at him and verbally rip his head off, maybe even give him a backhanded comment about his performance tonight. But she just seemed…off. It was concerning, and maybe deep down JJ was worried. Not that he cared about her, he didn’t. But who else was he supposed to tease and annoy if his own little rival could barely pull his leg without looking completely dead inside?

“That was pathetic.” He replied, still frowning. However, Kiara just rolled her eyes.

“I can’t be bothered with you right now.” She countered. “Just leave me alone, JJ.”

“Oh, so I’m JJ now?” He questioned. He didn’t like how anxious it made him, how disturbed he felt by her acting so…un-Kiara-like.

“Can you just _fuck off_?” She exclaimed, finally turning so they were face-to-face, eyes glaring into each other’s, both far too stubborn to just walk away from this. This was what he wanted, what he knew, the Kiara that always went head to head with him, who challenged him. This was _his_ Kiara, the side only he got to see, the one that got under his skin as easily as she got under his.

“Aw c’mon, love, what’s got you all wound up?” He pressed, his lips tugging up into that smirk he knows riles her up.

“None of your _fucking_ business.” She seethed, arms crossed over her chest but he noticed her fists clenched. Oh, he was breaking through to her.

“Did daddy cut your pocket money, hm? Poor little Kiara can’t buy those Louis Vuittons she wanted?” He mocked, lips jutted out in an exaggerated pout.

“Just…do you ever get sick of hearing yourself talk?” She huffed out, staring at him for a few seconds before shaking her head and taking a step back. “You know what, I don’t have time for this.” She turned, making her way back to the door that led back down to the party.

“Got some more notes to make, Nancy Drew?” He called out, watching as she flipped him off without even a glance.

“Suck my dick, Maybank.” She retorted, hand reaching for the handle so she could get the fuck out of there.

“Only if you return the favour, love.” He grinned, watching as she gripped the knob, jiggling it. “It’s a pull door, dumbass.”

“Dickhead.” He heard her mutter under her breath as she continued to wiggle the door handle.

“God, you Americans and your incapability to do anything.” He scoffed as he made his way over, pausing beside Kiara. He gave her a look, eyebrow cocked. “Allow me?”

“Be my guest.” She said, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she stepped aside.

“Just need a little muscle, love.” He replied confidently as he reached for the handle, twisting it and before he gave it a pull. It didn’t budge. He then giving it a shove. It still didn’t budge. “Shit.” He muttered.

“Oh, my hero.” Kiara scoffed, shaking her head.

“Like you could do any better.” He gritted his teeth together, pulling at the handle with as much strength he could. It still didn’t budge. “Bloody hell, what is this door made of?” He huffed out, taking a few steps back.

“Of course, just my luck, getting stuck out in the cold with you.” Kiara laughed dryly. “Just the cherry on top of a shitty day.” Though he had a strong feeling the last comment was more for herself that him.

“Well, it’s good to know my prayers to the door gods finally worked out,” He countered. “There is nothing I want more than to be stuck on this roof with an insufferable twat.”

Kiara took a deep breath, jaw clenched as she turned to JJ. “Could you just _shut the fuck up_ for like, two seconds? You are the most irritating, infuriating, downright—” And then she cut herself off, lips parted as she stared at him with an odd expression.

His eyebrows furrowed together. “Downright what?” He asked, but she just stared at him. “Hello? Earth to Kiara? Well, at least you’ve shut your gob for once.” He murmured with a shrug.

“You.”

He waited for her to continue but she didn’t. “Me?”

“You’re perfect!” She exclaimed.

“Tell me something I don’t know, love.”

“No, no, you don’t get it. You are _perfect_.” Kiara repeated, an oddly excited glint in her eyes that made JJ feel _slightly_ uncomfortable. “You are infuriating and annoying and rude and—”

“Bloody hell, don’t sugar-coat it.” He deadpanned.

“—you’d be their worst nightmare!” She finished with a clap of her hands.

“You are aware of how fucking vague you’re being, right?” He asked her, watching her mutter to herself about how she should’ve thought about ‘this’ earlier and how it would be perfect. She was starting to sound a bit like a broken record.

She finally turned back to him, a Cheshire-like smile on her face. “I need you to be my boyfriend.” She stated bluntly.

JJ froze, staring at her as though she had grown three heads. He then waited, expecting an insult or possibly even a punchline to follow. But it never did. She was being completely serious.

“Did you knock your head off something?” He finally spat out, taking a step back from her for his own safety. “Or is this another fucking weird American thing that is just not clicking for me?”

Kiara rolled her eyes (as if he was the one acting strange here!) before she spoke up again. “I…I know we aren’t friends—”

“Yeah, quite the opposite actually.”

She took a deep breath. “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

JJ blinked. “You aren’t really my type, Carrera. I have standards, even for my fake girlfriends.”

“You are the worst person I know and that makes you _perfect_ boyfriend material to scare off my parents.” She said, although he noticed the slight hesitance in her voice. There was more to this than she was letting on.

“Really know how to make a lad feel special, Carrera.” He huffed out, watching her closely with narrowed eyes. He contemplated his next words, knowing that a part of him will regret indulging in this nonsense instead of just shutting it down. “What do I gain from this?”

“My overwhelming gratitude?” Kiara said with a sheepish smile, but the pointed look JJ gave her made her shoulders drop a little. “Fine. Uhhh, you’d make Scarlet beyond jealous! Isn’t she who you have your pervy little eyes on?”

“You’re awfully rude for someone who’s currently asking me to parade myself in front of her folks like some dancing monkey.” He commented.

“I thought someone like you would’ve jumped at the chance to mess around with those ‘bourgeoise wankers’.” She pointed out, using his own drunken—but truthful—words against him.

“Some good ol’ jealousy and mucking about doesn’t really cancel out the emotional trauma I’d go through being in a relationship with you.” He shrugged. Truthfully, it sounded like a blast to fuck around with her parents but there was a sadistic part of him that wanted to see Kiara beg a little more.

“Oh c’mon,” She scoffed, eyebrows raised as she stared at him with that classic judgemental look of hers. “You can’t tell me there isn’t a part of you that revels in the idea of being able to mess with some rich folk, make them so uncomfortable that they are rendered speechless, say and do whatever you want, all while under the protection of knowing they would never be able to do anything to you as long as you are making their little girl happy.”

By the time she finished her little speech, they had somehow moved closer, so close that JJ found himself staring at her in a whole new way, noticing the details he had never picked up on before. How in the shitty LED lights on this roof he could see the small golden flecks in her eyes, that when she blinked her eyelashes just tickled her cheeks, that her cheeks and nose were the same shade of pink from their exposure to the cold. Those little things that JJ had never picked up on before, and in his buzzed state, he wasn’t sure how he felt about them.

“Do you think you can handle it , Kiara?” He whispered. “Think you’ll be able to act like my girl and not fall hopelessly in love with me?”

“I am pretty sure I’ll manage.” She whispered back. JJ smirked a little.

Just then the door swung open, a couple of girls stumbling through as they comforted their sobbing friend. JJ and Kiara instantly sprung apart, clearing their throats as a few of the newcomers glanced their way but didn’t say anything. Their priorities lied somewhere else, clearly.

Kiara gave JJ one last look before she began heading towards the now open door, probably ready to get out of the cold. However, just before she disappeared down the stairs, he called out to her. He was going to seriously regret this tomorrow morning but hey, what is college for if not making shitty mistakes?”

“I’LL DO IT!” She froze. “I’LL HELP YOU OUT, BUT YOU OWE BE BIG TIME, CARRERA!”

She flipped him off before she disappeared down the stairs, leaving him on the roof. Little did he know that she had a triumphant smile on her face as she headed back to the party.

JJ Maybank was her fake boyfriend now. Definitely not a sentence either of them thought would be a reality, let alone their reality.

“Damn…I really had my money on you asking Jeremy from economics.”

“Out of everything I said, _that_ is what you picked up?”

When Kiara had woken up the next morning, it wasn’t until she was half way through shaving her legs that the memories of the night before came back to her. At first all she felt was that deep pitted feeling of instant regret. _Really?,_ she thought to herself. _JJ Maybank?!_ But some time had passed and slowly, she calmed down a little. JJ was drinking that night, and who knows how much he had after she left him on the roof. There was a strong chance that he didn’t even remember last night and she could just take the memories to her grave and move on with her life.

Then she saw a notification on her phone.

**Unknown:** _good morning love, hope you didn’t forget our wee deal ;) –J_

The regret came flooding back and Kiara wasted no time running into Tess’s room, jumping on her until she finally woke up before ranting and babbling away about last night’s endeavours. And amongst her rambling, Kiara had started pacing around the room whilst Tess was sat up against the headboard, trying her hardest to keep up despite being half-awake and hungover.

“In fairness, you said a lot of words.” She whined slightly, hugging one of her pillows closer to her chest. “And calm down, you are starting to wear holes into the carpet.”

Kiara sent a glare towards the other before letting out a small whine, collapsing onto the bed beside her. “This is going to end so badly,” She muttered, though her words were muffled due to the fact she was lying face first into the bed. “He’s gonna be _too_ good, he will say something stupid and next thing you know I’ll be sent of to military camp—”

“I forgot how dramatic you are when you’re hungover.” Tess commented, muttering a small ‘ouch’ when Kiara half-heartedly slapped her leg.

“I should call it off.” She said in a more definitive tone, lifting her head up from the comforter.

“And then what? Ask another boy who’d be stupid enough to say yes? You have two days until your parents arrive. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that JJ agreed to it.” Tess said in a softer voice. “Plus, you’d get to really piss Scarlet off.” She added in a sing-song voice.

Kiara grinned a little at that. “Yeah, I would— _oh shit_!” She exclaimed, scrambling to sit up. “Fuck, I didn’t think about that. This whole thing wouldn’t just be in front of my parents, it has to be in front of everyone…fuck me.” She whined, falling back onto the bed.

“I appreciate the offer,” Tess hummed. “But I mean…what else did you expect? You offered the whole jealousy act to him. And what if someone saw you two at dinner with your parents? It would just lead to more potential issues and risks. Suck it up, buttercup, you’re gonna have to go public.” She left a comforting pat on Kiara’s knee.

“I know, I know…” She trailed off, glaring at the ceiling. She really didn’t think this through—and that skin-crawling feeling of regret she felt earlier was only seeming to get stronger. “How the fuck are we going to pull this off? I mean, one day we are at each other’s throats and the next we are all lovey-dovey? No one will buy it.”

“Well…” Tess spoke up, an awkward laugh following her hesitation.

Kiara narrowed her eyes, pushing herself up so she was resting back on her elbows. “Well what?”

“It really wouldn’t be that much of a surprise, that’s all.” Tess said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. “Everyone can see the tension there…well, everyone except you guys.”

Kiara grimaced. “Really? Me and JJ? As if!”

Tess gave her a look. “Oh c’mon, it’s a fifty-fifty chance that whenever you guys get all up in each other’s faces that you are either going to yell at each other or make out.”

“I would never make out with that douche.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “All I’m saying is that Scarlet’s whole threatening act from yesterday isn’t as random as you think,” She said. “People have just been waiting for you and JJ to fuck and get the whole petty rivalry bullshit out of your system.”

Kiara looked at Tess with her mouth agape. She didn’t think she had ever hear her be so blunt, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about it. It was disturbing, like she was in an alternative universe and the words she was saying only made Kiara want to vomit over this alternative universe.

“You know what, I’ll just talk to you once you’ve sobered up. You are clearly delusional.” She huffed out before she pushed herself off the bed, heading back to her own room where she had left her phone and JJ’s unanswered message isolated under her duvet in hopes that either of them would disappear.

Spoiler alert: they were still there.

Kiara’s finger hovered over the keyboard as she stared at his message, eyes narrowed as if she was waiting for the hidden message to be revealed. Or maybe even for her phone to self-explode. Who knows what that Brit was capable of.

**Kiara:** _who is this??_

She stared at her message with a small frown on her face. It was a bitchy move, an unnecessary one too but she would be damned if she let JJ know just how easily he could get under her skin.

**Jackass:** _you wound me, love, I thought our bond was stronger than that_

**Kiara:** _clearly you were wrong about that_

**Jackass:** _I feel sorry for whatever poor bloke you end up with if this is how you reply to a good morning text_

**Kiara:** _aw this is just reserved specially for you :)_

**Jackass:** _how charming, I feel honoured_

**Kiara:** _you should_

She watched the little bubbles appear on her phone. She watched them closely as she waited to see what cheeky remark he had come up with. But none came. Soon enough the bubbles disappeared and Kiara was just left staring at her screen.

“Fucker left me on read.” She muttered bitterly before she threw her phone down on the bed beside her. Whatever, she would just continue on with her day. It was JJ, did she really expect anything different?

However, she did find herself glancing over at her phone for any notifications as she got dressed for the day. There was no lectures today, but Kiara planned to head down to the library for a bit, get a head start on some of her assignments before she is crammed with Valentine Day Bash duties. Well, that’s what she told herself. The reality of Kiara being productive is a whole different story the second she steps in that library.

“Kiara, c’mon, we are heading over now!”

Kiara shoved the rest of what she deemed necessary for a library trip into her backpack before throwing it over her shoulder. She grabbed her phone with the intention of slipping it into her back pocket when she noticed a text notification from her least favourite blond.

**Jackass:** _I’ll keep that in mind next time you insult me_

She rolled her eyes, muttering about how stupidly dead his response was. She sighed, typing her reply before shoving her phone into her pocket and heading down to meet up with Tess and some other girls for breakfast.

**Kiara:** _meet me after breakfast, need to discuss details for deal_

Curtesy of the college, a massive breakfast buffet is held every Saturday morning. It was introduced as a way to let kids interact and mingle with people they wouldn’t usually interact with in their classes or dorms. It was a thoughtful wish, but in reality it was just a way for students not have to worry about making a meal and usually shoving and stocking up with as much as they can for the rest of the week. Kiara herself had taken way too many brunch bars than she could count.

The sorority were a great example in showing that the whole ‘mingle with new people’ concept was not going to work. The Kappa Alpha Kappa’s had their own table that everyone _knew_ belonged to them, they always sat there, they practically owned the table. And as much as Kiara appreciated the meal, she wasn’t sure if it was worth dealing with Scarlet so early when she isn’t properly caffeinated yet.

“Your colour scheme was tacky, Vanessa. I am all about class,” Kiara resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Scarlet took her seat at the head of the table. There was still three weeks until the dance but of course she was already nagging everyone about it. “Reds and pinks only, if I see one sunset orange I will _literally_ die.”

“Thank god.” Kiara muttered under her breath, ignoring the glare that was being burned into the side of her head as she continued to eat the food on her tray.

Tess snickered, shaking her head. She waited until Scarlet’s focus was back on the dance before she leaned in, keeping her voice low. “Sorted out your little predicament?”

Kiara glanced around, making sure none of the other sisters were listening in before she nodded. “Yeah, meeting after this, sort out everything before Monday.” She said. “The last thing I need is him making a total fool out of the both of us in front of my parents.”

Tess’s eyes moved to glance over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowing together. “Uh, what about the whole college?”

Kiara frowned. “What do you mean?”

Tess let out a nervous laugh. “Not to alarm you but Brit coming in hot at twelve o’clock.”

Kiara’s confusion only grew, not quite sure where Tess was going with this. However, her eyes never seemed to tear away from whatever was over her shoulder. “What are you—” She turned her head, ready to see what had caught the other’s attention but before she had the chance to fathom what was going on, she felt someone’s hand rake into her hair and tug her head back.

For a brief second she saw a flash of blonde and the next thing she knew, a pair of lips where on her own. She froze, unsure how to act or what to do or if she should even kiss back. But by the time the last thirty seconds had caught up with her, the person was pulling back and Kiara’s eyes fluttered open to see a smirking JJ standing above her.

“Now _that_ is how you say good morning, love.” He said with such suave and calamity as though the whole student body weren’t staring at them, as though Scarlet didn’t practically have steam coming out of her ears, as though Kiara didn’t want to desperately punch him in the face at that moment.

JJ’s grin only widened when he saw how flabbergasted she was. He leaned over her slightly, grabbing the apple from her tray and casually taking a bite. He then glanced down at Kiara, leaning down so his lips were just brushing her ear. “See you outside.” And with that he was walking towards the exit, a smug look on his face as he ate her _fucking_ apple and left her with the beady, curious eyes of the students around her.

Kiara watched him walk away, mouth agape before she turned to Tess who looked just as confused as she was. “I…uh…yeah, I’ll see you later.” She muttered, shoving her tray away before she grabbed her bag and quickly followed JJ outside, ignoring the stares and whispers as she passed the gobsmacked students. It was disturbing how silent the canteen was, Kiara was pretty sure even the professors and staff were silenced in shock.

She found him outside, near the edge of the courtyard, sitting on one of the benches with his arms resting on his knees and the cockiest smirk the world has ever seen on his face. He gave her a wave, and it bothered Kiara more just how casual he was and just how easily she reacted to his antics.

“What the _fuck_ was that?!” She yelled at him, bag now abandoned on the floor as she slapped him across the back of his head.

“Ow, geez. No need to get bloody hostile on me.” He huffed out with a laugh, looking up at her with an innocent smile. “I was doing you a favour, love. May as well rip the plaster off and get the big reveal over and done with.”

“And you’re solution is to just grab my face and kiss me in front of everyone?” She sneered, shuddering in disgust at the mere memory of it.

“Hm, but you see it was worth every grotesque moment just to see that look on your face.” He countered, innocently shrugging. “You looked absolutely—”

“I am actually going to kill you, oh my—” She took a few steps away from him, hands running over face as she ignored his snickering. “Alright, if this is going to work, we are gonna have to establish some rules.”

“You bloody Americans really take the fun out of everything,” He muttered. “A bunch of uptight knobheads.”

Kiara rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you do things back in England, but at least we like to have some controlled system here in America.”

“Oh yes, I can see that clearly through your _very_ incorrupt government and their _rules_ some old white gits made up who knows how long ago. Seems like a fair controlled system to me.” He commented dryly. Kiara pressed her lips together, not exactly having a comeback for that one. 

“My point is that if this is going to work out, we need to set some boundaries.” She said, reaching for her bag to take out a notebook and pen before she nudged his shoulder, taking a seat next to him on the bench.

“Alright, I’ll play along,” He sighed. “What is the first rule, your majesty?”

She sent him a side glare before she turned back to her open notebook. “Number one: no kissing. And keep your hands to yourself.”

“Are you daft? Who’s gonna fucking believe us if you want to keep a six foot pole between us.” He scoffed.

As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a point. “Fine,” She sighed. “Casual PDA then. Hand-holding, arm around the shoulder, all that jazz. But _no kissing._ ”

“Fine by me.” He said with a shrug. “My turn. Rule number two: don’t tell a soul about this whole setup. It’s embarrassing enough I have to be your boyfriend, don’t really fancy telling people it was fake, makes it seem a bit desperate and pathetic.”

Kiara paused, thinking about Tess inside. In fairness, it was Tess’s idea to get a fake boyfriend so she hadn’t _really_ told her. But she did agree with him, it would be mortifying if people found out that they were faking it. Scarlet especially would never let her live it down. “Alright fine, no one knows.”

They continued to discuss the rules until they came up with a set they were happy with: no kissing but PDA is permitted, the details of the deal cannot be discussed outside the two of them, no flings or hook-ups while they are ‘dating’, have to spend at least some time together so people don’t get suspicious and lastly, the insults and snarky comments are limited to when they are alone. It seemed simple enough, fair rules that wouldn’t be too hard to keep up until this whole thing blows over with her parents.

“Alright, last thing,” She said, turning to look at JJ. “Our story.”

He frowned. “Our story?”

“Yeah like, how we got together and stuff.” She said.

“Who bloody cares about that? Just make up some shit or tell people to sod off and mind their own business.” He scoffed, leaning back on his hands.

She rolled her eyes. “You do realise my parents will probably interrogate the shit out of you, right?”

“Then I’ll tell them the truth,” He said, head thrown back with his eyes shut as he enjoyed the little sun they seemed to have that morning. “That you have been hopelessly in love with me since we first met and eventually after all your begging, I agreed to go out with you.”

“You’re a pig.” She huffed, shoving his shoulder when he only laughed at her response. She grabbed her bag, collecting her belongings before she turned back to him. “Thanks, I guess.”

She watched as his eyebrows furrowed together before he peeked a look at her. “What for?”

“For…doing all this.” She said with a shrug. “It…uh, it means a lot.”

He cleared his throat, seeming a little uncomfortable with just how serious she got. “Uh yeah, sure.” He muttered, pressing his lips together.

“Well…I gotta go so…” She trailed off, nodding her head.

“Yeah, me too. Practice.” He replied.

Both of them seeming to look anywhere but each other before eventually Kiara just decided to walk away, heading towards the library instead of the canteen. She would regret missing breakfast later but she didn’t like she could deal with the student body pestering her right now. She needed some time to wrap her own mind around the whole situation. JJ Maybank and Kiara Carrera working together…

Now there is a sentence nobody ever thought they would hear.

It was no surprise to JJ the second he walked into practice, he was hounded by his teammates on _what the fuck_ the whole canteen scene was about. JJ just shrugged, giving them half-assed answers before Coach interrupted and practically screamed at them to get out on the pitch and warm up. JJ didn’t think he had ever felt so grateful towards Coach until that moment. But his peace from the insistent questioning only lasted so long before he found himself sitting in the dugouts, slipping on his shin-guards for the five-a-side game they were about to play.

“So, you and Carrera, huh?”

JJ looked up at Rafe who was leaning against the side of the dugout, looking at him with a smirk that JJ wasn’t even sure what it meant. “Yeah, me and Carrera.”

“Quite unexpected.” He commented with a shrug. “Could’ve sworn the other week you called her a…now what was it…oh yeah, ‘an insufferable cow who get to fuck’.” He finished in a horrible imitation of JJ’s accent that honestly made him cringe.

“What’s your point, mate?” JJ sighed, grabbing his boots to slip back on while Rafe seemed to just continue giving him that scary smile that made him look a little constipated.

“Nothing, it’s just I heard a little rumour that her parents were visiting.” Rafe said casually. JJ resisted the urge to roll his eyes, did rich people have their own little Facebook page to keep each other updated on their whereabouts? To be fair, JJ wouldn’t put it past them to actually have one. “You must be worried, meeting the parents and all.”

“Wow, Rafe, if I didn’t know any better I would think you actually care about me.” He deadpanned.

“We’re brothers, Maybank, and I’m just looking out for my brother.” Rafe shrugged. “You are entering the lion’s den, and frankly I don’t think you have what it takes tor survive.”

JJ frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Kiara’s from a whole different world, dude.” Rafe stated. “You really think her parents are going to let her continue to date some international scholarship kid who’s future relies on him getting scouted or else he gets booted back to a life of tea parties and top hats?”

JJ’s frown deepened, not only at the ridiculous stereotypes Rafe chose but also at what he was suggesting. “So you’re basically saying that you don’t think I’m….what? Worthy enough to date Kiara?”

Rafe raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just warning you, dude, don’t get your hopes up that this thing you’ve got going on is gonna last much longer.”

JJ knew this whole deal with Kiara was going to end the second her parents left town, they even briefly spoke about having a ‘messy breakup stunt’ in front of everyone. I mean, what better way to prevent rumours that to just give everyone the show they want and nip the whole thing in the bud. He knew that. He knew this was fake and how it would go. But still, hearing Rafe say it so bluntly was just…unsettling.

“CAMERON! MAYBANK! FIELD, NOW!”

“Yeah, mate, I know.” He muttered with what he hoped was a convincing smile, letting Rafe slap a few friendly pats on his back before he returned to the field. But JJ sat there, the conversation lying on his shoulders like a heavy reminder that Kiara did chose him for a reason, and he knew that. But Rafe also knew that, and he couldn’t help but wonder if everyone else felt that way.

“MAYBANK! GET OFF YOUR ASS!”

“Yeah, coming Coach!” He yelled, shaking his head as he slipped his boots back on, planning to leave the conversation in the dugout and focus on practice instead.

Kiara puffed her cheeks out in annoyance, glancing once again at her phone. It had only been a minute since she last checked but the longer he took, the more impatient she was getting. He was meant to be here fifteen minutes ago, and now she was standing outside this fancy restaurant in the freezing cold while her parents were inside and JJ Maybank was nowhere to be seen.

Her phone binged, Kiara quickly opening the message before she even saw the name only to be meant with straight disappointment.

**Mum:** _how much longer?_

She let out a small huff, deciding not to send her a reply. She knew she told JJ to play up the ‘part’ of the bad boyfriend but Kiara honestly didn’t think he was going to be so _good_ at it. He was really pushing the line. And just as her finger was hovering over his name to call him _again_ for the fiftieth time, she saw a mop of blond hair running her way.

JJ skidded to a stop in front of her, cheeks bright red and chest heaving as he gave her a casual smile. “Calm yer tits, I’m here now. No need to blow up my phone.”

Her eyes scanned over his appearance, noticing his hair was still wet (probably from the last minute shower he took) and his clothes were a little too casual for the restaurant they were about to enter. He looked like he had come straight out of practice. _Perfect._

“Whatever, let’s go. My parents are waiting inside.” She said as they both began walking to the entrance before Kiara paused, turning to JJ. “Remember, act as sickeningly in love as you can. The more uncomfortable, the better.”

“Contrary to what you may believe, I’m not that fucking thick. I got the point the first time you told me.” He never would get those three hours back that she spent explaining the whole dinner to him.

“Just…shut up before I kick your sorry ass back to England.” She muttered, watching as he raised his hands in mock surrender—that stupid smirk tugging on his lips—before he reached to open the door for her.

“M’lady.” He grinned, allowing her to walk in first before he followed her. As soon as they entered the restaurant, JJ’s arm found itself wrapped around her shoulder and so the trickery began.

“How can I help you?” A posh woman with a thick French accent spoke up from her spot behind the pedestal, looking between the young couple with a charming smile. Her eyes lingered on JJ’s attire, her ‘friendly hostess’ façade dropping for a few moments before she quickly snapped back to reality. If JJ noticed, he didn’t show it. He simply smiled as Kiara spoke up.

“Table for Carrera.”

“Right this way, madam.” She gestured for them to follow as she began to lead them through the restaurant until they reached a table out back on the porch (obviously there was some sort of heating system because Kiara didn’t feel like her fingers were about to freeze off), her parents whispering between each other before they noticed Kiara and quickly stood up.

“Sweetheart,” Her dad spoke up first, reaching to hug Kiara before her mother followed suit. “You’ve grown.”

“Not since the last time I saw you, Dad.” She said with a slightly forced smile on her lips.

“Well, you definitely have put on some weight. Are you eating well at that school of yours? Do they feed your processed junk?” Her mother glanced over her appearance, giving a small curt nod which Kiara knew to perceive as ‘yes, I approve of this outfit’.

“I’m being fed fine, Mum.” However, she noticed her parents’ attention had now moved to the blond standing behind her. “Oh, Mum, Dad. This is—”

“JJ Maybank, Kiara’s boyfriend.” He interrupted, extending his hand to them. “Pleasure to meet you, Anna, Mike.” Kiara tried not to snicker at her parents’ expression at the informality.

“Boyfriend?” Anna questioned, her eyes glancing over his appearance with her nose scrunched a little in disgust. She stared at his extended hand before deciding not to shake it.

“Yeah, boyfriend.” Kiara confirmed with a smile, reaching for JJ’s hand and intertwining their fingers for good measure.

“You never told us you had a boyfriend, Kiara.” Her father spoke up, his words just audible through his clenched teeth.

“Did I not?” Kiara replied innocently. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Shall we? I’m bloody starving.” JJ piped in, not even waiting for their response before he was tugging Kiara down in the seats across from her parents.

“Uh, yes. Let’s begin.” Anna muttered as she took her seat, picking up the menu lying in front of her but her eyes continued to glance between the young couple. Soon enough, a waiter appeared with a notepad in hand, ready to take the drink orders.

“I’ll just have some water for right now.” Her mother insisted, her father following suit.

“I’ll have a diet coke, please.” Kiara ordered with a polite smile.

“Got any decent beer in this place, mate?” JJ was met with three pairs of wide eyes. “What? It’s a valid question.”

“Uh, we’ll need ID to confirm you are of age, Sir.” The waiter replied, looking a little shocked with how blunt JJ was being.

“Bloody hell, you Americans and your daft laws.” JJ scoffed, leaning back before throwing his arms over the back of Kiara’s chair. “What’s a lad gotta do around here to get a fucking drink, really. I don’t understand how you lot survive not being pished every meal.”

Kiara fought back the smile that was tugging on her lips. “Just order something else, babe, no need to cause a scene.”

“Fine, fine,” JJ sighed dramatically. “I’ll take a diet coke too, happy?”

“Uh, of course, I’ll be right back with your drinks.” The waiter muttered before he disappeared back inside. Kiara turned to look at her parents who looked at JJ with that classic judgemental look she had seen so many times growing up.

“So,” Mike looked at JJ with what Kiara assumed was meant to be a polite smile but looked as though it was leaning more towards the constipated grimace. “JJ, tell us about yourself.”

“Trying to get all my dirty secrets already, Mike. Didn’t know we reached that stage.” JJ replied but was just met with blank looks. “Right, not the humorous type, noted.”

“JJ is actually here on a sports scholarship.” Kiara spoke up, watching as her father looked a little impressed.

“Oh really, what do you play?” He asked, eyebrows raised in interest.

“Football.”

His eyes scanned over JJ, seeming a little confused by his answer. Kiara could practically see the clogs turning in her father’s head and it was only then that she realised the miscommunication. JJ was built, very well she had to admit. But he was built for soccer, not football.

“Oh, well I mean…you’re wide receiver?”

JJ scoffed. “Mate, I mean _real_ football.”

“He means soccer.” Kiara added.

“No, I mean football.” JJ interrupted. “You play it with your bloody foot, hence _foot_ -ball. Don’t know what you lot were on when you called it football. It’s just rugby for pansies, running around in your little helmets and shoulder pads.”

Mike frowned at the blond. “Football is way better than rugby. We have the Super Bowl, what does rugby have?”

“Six Nations and the Ellis Cup but Americans are too bloody ignorant to care about anything that goes on outside their country.”

Mike looked livid whilst JJ simply gave him a charming smile that clearly not helping the glare the older man was sending him.

Anna cleared her throat. “Maybe we should order.” She suggested before quickly summoning over another waiter to take their orders. It had gone quite smoothly after that, only a few mildly shocking comments from JJ that left her parents temporarily speechless for a few seconds before they promptly moved the conversation on.

That was until half way through the meal, Anna finally brought up the question she was dreading.

“So, how did you two meet?”

Kie paused mid-chew, taking a glance at JJ that she hoped made her ‘I told you we should’ve come up with a story’ point very clear. She quickly swallowed before she turned back to her mother. “We actually met—”

“—in our first year.” JJ interrupted, placing his hand on her leg under the table, a sign to say that he could handle this. Out of instinct her hand grabbed his, both out of fear and curiosity on what bullshit he was going to come up with.

“And it took Kiara three years to tell us about you.” Anna noted with a pointed look towards her daughter.

“Well, that’s no surprise. We hated each other when we first met.” JJ said casually as though Kiara wasn’t squeezing his hand under the table. “And I mean like full on ‘Nana Maybank would not be happy to hear the words coming out my mouth’ level of hatred. It was bloody brutal, your daughter can be a right cow when she wants to be.”

“Isn’t he just charming?” Kiara smiled to her parents as though she wasn’t kicking his shin under the table.

“But I guess that bloke who said the line between love and hate is a thin line was right because,” JJ turned to look at Kiara as he spoke, a soft expression on his face that she was definitely not used to. “I love her, I really do. And I couldn’t imagine a life without Kiara in it. A life without her seems…unimaginable. Like there wouldn’t be a point of living anymore.”

Kiara felt her throat close up, any words that were on the tip of her tongue disappeared as she stared right back at him. She knew that he was just playing the part she asked him to, and that her parents were sitting right there probably watching the two of them like hawks, but Kiara couldn’t seem to process that. There was a tug in her, somewhere deep inside her that felt as though she had been spun a million times and thrown upside down. She felt confused, and maybe even a little nauseous, because from all the sides of JJ Maybank she had seen over the years, this definitely had not been one of them and now she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She wasn’t even sure if she liked it, it was a bit unusual from the British asshole she had got to know over the years.

JJ quickly cleared his throat, turning back to her parents with that charming smile once again. Kiara’s eyes lingered on his side profile for a few more seconds, still a little dazed by just how naturally he spoke about her like that. She had to give him credit, his acting was a lot better than she expected.

“So, anyone up for dessert?”

Throughout the rest of the dinner, JJ seemed to carry on the conversation fairly well with her parents, whilst Kiara herself was probably a little too quiet but she didn’t care. She was just happy for the night to be over as the four of them exited the restaurant.

“I’ll go grab the car.” Mike muttered before he disappeared to wherever they must’ve parked. If anything, Kiara was surprised that her parents actually drove themselves rather than taking a driver.

Anna watched her husband walk away before she turned to Kiara, a softer expression on her face that was honestly leaving Kiara feeling a little concerned. “Can we talk?” She asked, her eyes wandering over to glance at JJ. “In private.”

“Right, got the message. I’ll just go linger over there.” JJ said with a mock salute before wandering a couple of feet away, busying himself with reading the menu that was in the restaurant’s window.

Kiara shook her head, turning back to look at her mother. “Is everything okay?”

Anna sighed, lips pressed together as she took a few moments to gather her thoughts. “Today…today made me realise just how little your father and I know about your life.”

“Mum, it’s okay. It was my fault, I should’ve told you about JJ earlier.” Kiara said with convincing amount of guilt in her words. She knew what was coming, could feel the ‘disapproval of JJ and her choice in partners’ talk about to follow whatever half-assed speech she was going to give. _Exactly according to plan,_ Kie thought to herself.

“No, no. It’s not okay, Kiara. We are your parents, we should be more involved in your life.” She said, reaching out to take one of Kiara’s hands in her own. “And I think the first step should be being completely honest with each other.”

“Mum—”

“There is something you should know,” Her mother interrupted. “Your father and I aren’t really here for a potential business deal.”

Kiara’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“We already took the deal. We are in town so we can begin the project and work with our new partners in person.” She informed her daughter. “We are going to be in town for a couple of weeks.”

Kiara froze. “What?”

“Kiara, I know we should have told you earlier but we thought you’d get upset.” But Kiara took a step away from her mother, yanking her hand back.

“Oh really, you don’t say.” She scoffed.

“Kiara,” Her mother said in a firmer voice. “I know we shouldn’t have lied to you but we wanted to tell you in person, tonight at dinner but then you brought…your _friend._ ”

“He has a name, Mum.”

“My point is that maybe we should’ve been more honest with each other.” Anna said softly, taking a step closer to Kiara once again. “We want you to be more involved with the company and we want to be more present in your life…and those within it.” She said with a small, tight-lipped smile.

“Where are you going with this?”

“There’s going to be a lot of corporal events over the next few weeks and now that you are coming to your last years of college, your father and I believe this would be good experience for you.”

Kiara pressed her lips together, a variety of colourful words wanting to leave her mouth in that moment and yet, she couldn’t seem to do anything but stare at her mother.

“And I know JJ isn’t exactly...my ideal partner for you,” Anna sighed, almost as though she was having to force herself to say the next part. “But he makes you happy and he is clearly someone you love, and your father and I should give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Kiara stared at her mother with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, what?!”

“Well, we are going to be here for the next few weeks anyways, it’s the perfect chance to get to know JJ as you know him.” Her mother smiled. “In fact, why don’t you bring JJ with you to the dinner we are having with our associates next week?”

“I…uh…but…”

“Think about it and let me know.” She said, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead when Mike pulled up with the car. “I enjoyed tonight, despite its…differences from our usual family dinners. It was nice to see you again, Kiara.” And with that, her mother wished JJ a goodbye with a small wave before she hopped into the car with Mike and drove off to whatever five-star hotel her parents were staying at for the next few weeks.

Kiara, however, couldn’t move from her spot. She stood there, staring blankly in front of her as the conversation with her mother replayed in her head. This was wrong, all wrong. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. She was meant to drag JJ with her so they would be completely repulsed by him. They were meant to be rude and judgemental and demand Kiara pulled herself together before she returned home for the next holidays.

But that’s not what happened. No, because her parents decide that _now_ they would try and be decent people that actually took interest in their daughter’s life. After everything—all the embarrassing moments and judgement she faced growing up from her peers—it was _now_ they decided things would change. Just when she was relying on their usual absent-parents dynamic.

“Kiara?” She heard JJ calling out to her. “Hello? Earth to Kiara, you good?”

She finally looked up at him, seeing a mixed expression of confusion and concern on his face. Her parents had left five minutes ago and she had just been standing there, completely still and silent—it _was_ pretty concerning. But she couldn’t even bring herself to care, nor could she even care that she was standing outside with no jacket with the cold nipping her skin. All she could think about was that this whole thing had backfired on her completely, how she really hadn’t thought this through, hadn’t thought about any other outcome other than her parents’ completely disapproving of JJ.

“Are you like…having a stroke or something?” He spoke up once again. “Blink twice if you are having a stroke—” But she interrupted him, her words blunt and heavy. Words that kept replaying in her head.

“We’re fucked.”


	2. Uh oh, we're in trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!! Here's my wee gift to you, enjoy some British!JJ ❤️

“So, let me get this straight…now you want me to quit?”

Since the dinner with her parents, Kiara had come to realise her situation was a lot more complicated than she expected. What she assumed to be her parents’ usual nosiness and desire to shove their nose into her life so they could ruin it, actually ended up being them truly wanting to accept their daughter and their differences they’ve had over the years. It was slightly unnerving, if she was being completely honest. But she also didn’t have the time to concern herself with the reasonings as to where this sudden concern has come from. Her priorities lied in surviving the next few weeks with the situation she has thrown herself into.

JJ was a ploy to keep her parents off her back, to repel them from her college life and anything related to it. He was meant to be their worst nightmare and now here they were, playing the picture-perfect parents and actually wanting to get to know the people Kiara supposedly cared about. Just her fucking luck.

This meant that for the time that her parents were here, things needed to run smoothly. And for that to happen, their past plan on JJ being the most revolting and horrible boyfriend to ever exist had to be turned down a few notches (although she was sure that would be difficult for him). The slight repulsive traits could remain, but overall, this was a bigger game than either of them expected. He wasn’t just putting on an act for her parents anymore. Oh no. He was putting on an act for her parents and all the business associates they were bound to meet over the next few weeks. Thus, their situation had gotten a lot more complicated than they expected. So, despite the history of her solutions never working as well as she wanted them to, Kiara came up with another one.

“Things have changed, Maybank, and so have the rules of the game.” Kiara said with a shrug, watching the blond sprint between the two cones for thirty seconds, jogging for fifteen and walking for ten. Then, the cycle started all over again.

Truthfully, Kiara needed at least twenty-four hours to process the information her parents dropped on her, therefore, leaving JJ in the dark and wondering what the fuck was going on for the same amount of time. Yet, when she finally came up with a solution to her problem, it turns out the blond was apparently ‘too busy’ to just meet up casually. So, Kiara found herself waking up early (something she utterly despised and voiced her anger about to the Brit) so she could catch him before his morning practice.

She noticed his eyebrows creasing together as he continued his exercise, finishing his last warm-up set before he made his way over to where she was sitting in the dugouts. She crinkled her nose when he reached past her to grab a small towel and his water-bottle. She watched him closely, expectantly even, as he took his time drinking his water and dabbing away his sweat. God, he could be absolutely infuriating.

“And to think, I pegged you as quite a bright lass.” He scoffed, shaking his head at her. “So you fully believe telling your parents we had a horrendous breakup is the easiest solution to this? Despite me having completely confessed my love for you in front of them two days prior. Yeah, real big brain thinking there.”

“It could work!” She huffed out defensively. “I could just say that I thought it would be best I date someone they would approve of instead of forcing them to get along with my annoying, pain in the ass British boyfriend.”

“I’m glad my lack of wealth and reliance on daddy’s credit card is such a valid reason to breakup in your household.” He muttered, rolling his eyes as he reached to grab one of the footballs from the massive net bag that Coach must’ve brought out earlier.

“I thought you would be glad to hear that you didn’t have to play this game anymore.” She commented, watching him through narrowed eyes. His cheeks were flushed red, sweat dripping down his face and sticking his hair to his forehead, and he was panting like mad. He must’ve been boiling from running around and yet, here she was bracing the cold as she sat in the dugouts that provided little shelter from the piercing wind.

“I think you forget this was a two way deal, Carrera.” He pointed out, the ball falling out of his hands and soon casually dribbled around the spot he was standing in. He looked effortless doing it, keeping up a conversation with her and maintaining decent eye contact whilst his feet moved skilfully to keep the ball from rolling away. “Plus, don’t really fancy breaking up with my fake girlfriend only a couple of days after we made it official.”

“I’m still pissed about that.”

“Cry me a river, love.”

Kiara rolled her eyes, hands shoved in her pockets as a lame attempt to keep them warm. “Things will be different now,” She told him. “You’ll have to actually try now. This is important to them, they are willing to let you sit in during business dinners. So, scratch the old plan.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Not even fucking with them a little bit?”

“JJ.” She warned.

“Oh, c’mon, let me have a bit of fun while you dress me up like some Ken doll and prance me around these dickheads.” He argued, the ball now comfortably under his foot as he leaned forward on his elevated knee.

“Fine,” She sighed. “Only a little bit though. Any funny business and I tell Scarlet that you honk like a goose in bed.”

“So you’ve thought about me in bed?” He smirked at her.

Kiara barked out a laugh, her cheeks flaming red although she wasn’t sure if that was from the cold or his comment. “As if, Maybank. You in bed is the last thing on my mind.”

“Ahh, but it is in there, right?” He laughed as she flipped him off. “Don’t be embarrassed about it, Carrera. If you really wanna test the rumours, you just have to ask.”

“You’re a pig.” She stated bluntly.

“I do like to get dirty, that’s for sure.” He retorted. She hated how easily he had a comeback for everything. And yet, she loved that he was able to keep up all at the same time.

“MAYBANK! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STANDING THERE FLIRTING LIKE A BUFFOON?! THREE LAPS AROUND THE PITCH!”

Kiara jumped a little when she heard the sudden—and loud voice—erupt from behind her. She turned around, finding Coach and most members of the team starting to finally show up for practice. She turned back to JJ, an amused look on her face.

“Have to run along and play captain now, do you?” Though before JJ could even open his mouth to retort, Coach was yelling once again.

“I’M SERIOUS, MAYBANK! MY GRANDMOTHER CAN MOVE FASTER THAN YOU AND SHE’S DEAD! ASS ON THE FIELD, NOW!”

“My ass is already on the field, Coach.”

“WELL IT AIN’T RUNNING SO GO!”

“Go have fun,” She grinned at him. “I have to go suffer the call with mummy dearest anyways. But at least I might have an eardrum by the end of it.”

JJ rolled his eyes, turning back to Kiara. Although both of them were now aware they had an audience watching them now. “Catch ya later, love.” He muttered, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before running off. “YOU OWE ME ONE!” He called out with a grin on his face, Kiara unable to do anything else but flip him off with a small laugh. She would get payback for the kiss later.

“I hope you aren’t distracting my captain further, Capri-sun.” Coach spoke up, now suddenly at her side as he watched the boys begin their warm-up laps around the pitch before looking down at her.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Sir.” She replied, deciding it’s better to not correct him. At least then she will be able to slip away faster.

“Good, good.” He murmured with a nod, arms crossed over his chest you. “You see, GG is like a son to me.”

“Aren’t they all meant to be like sons to you?” Kiara commented but Coach just scoffed.

“Fuck no, half of them can barely tell the ball from their left foot!” He dismissed. “But DD is different. He is the star of this team.” He sighed happily before the smile on his face dropped at he looked back to Kiara. “His grades are already holding him down, I don’t need some chick distracting my star player, got it?”

A variety of colourful phrases teased the tip of her tongue but Kiara held herself back, simply nodding and smiling to appease him before he wandered off to probably yell at some of the players and make them cry. However, as she gave JJ one last wave before turning to head back to the sorority house, his words lingered in her head.

JJ was on a full scholarship, and though most of his efforts and energy went to his sports career, he still had to keep an average grade in his classes to continue on. So for JJ to be struggling with the academic side of his scholarship, it could mean bad things for both JJ and the team. But that wasn’t any of her business, she assured herself. She should be focusing on the task at hand, the hellish call to her mother to confirm her and JJ’s appearance at the dinner next week.

But it nipped away at the back of her mind as she went on with her day, no matter how hard she tried.

“Really? He said that? About you?”

“Trust me, I am just as shocked as you—oh, pass me the glue gun, will you?”

After a couple of painful hours of the phone with her mother—mostly about making sure she understood the dress code for the dinner and to send the outfits they planned to wear in advance so she could approve them—Kiara soon found that the rest of her day was spent on dance decoration duties with the rest of the sorority girls. Kiara usually wouldn’t have minded it, it gave her a chance to skip a few classes and mess around with Tess for most of the day. Except, Scarlet seemed to have it out for her and was putting her on the most bizarre jobs she could think of. And Kiara’s head was preoccupied with much more pressing issues than the awful feathered heart garlands she was currently burning her fingers trying to make.

“I can’t believe he took it that far, and in front of your parents, nonetheless!” Tess laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as she tried to picture the scene Kiara had painted out for her. Truthfully, it wasn’t a shock to Tess that JJ was able to sweet-talk his way through the dinner. But sweet-talking about Kiara? Even JJ and Kiara being in the same room as each other and not breaking at least three things? That was the true shock of the evening.

“I wasn’t expecting him to be so tolerable. I don’t think my parents did either.” She admitted with a shrug, hissing a little as she burned herself again. Kiara looked up to see Scarlet standing beside a few frat boys who came over to help, twirling her hair as she pathetically laughed at one of their terrible jokes whilst she was suffering from first-degree burns.

“So you guys are keeping this up for longer then, huh?” Kiara couldn’t help but frown a little at the tone Tess was using.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh c’mon, Kiara!” Tess huffed, rolling her eyes. When Kiara still stared at her with a look of confusion, she placed her glue gun down and turned to the brunette. “This is like every classic rom-com ever. You are living a movie right now!”

“This was your idea, remember?” She deadpanned but Tess didn’t look amused or bothered by the comment.

“Yes, but once again, I thought you’d pick a casual associate like Jeremy from Economics—”

“I’m starting to think you like him from how much you bring him up.” Kie muttered.

“—not the boy you consider your worst enemy!” Tess hissed, as though her words made her point any clearer to Kiara. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

“Just spit it out, Tess.” She sighed, placing her own glue gun and garland down.

“All I’m saying is that you have thrown yourself into a rom-com situation and I’m not sure it’s gonna end the way you want it to.” Tess shrugged. “Boy and girl hate each other. Boy and girl have to fake date for some reason. Boy and girl catch feelings for each other. Boy and girl fall in love. It’s science!”

“It sounds like a boring rom-com.” She stated bluntly.

“Fine, deny it all you want but don’t expect me to not say ‘I told you so’ because I definitely will!” Tess promised, chin held up high.

“Again, may I remind you that this was your idea.” Kiara pointed out but Tess just quickly shushed her. “What—”

“Why are you two not working?” Kiara resisted to roll her eyes when she heard that familiar nasally voice. “The dance is in—”

“Fifteen days…we know. You haven’t let us forget.” Kiara muttered with a fake smile on her lips. “Your _gorgeous_ feather garlands will be ready by then, don’t you worry that empty little head of yours.”

Scarlet let out a fake laugh, her lips pressed together in a tight smile. “This dance is going to be the first one I’ve planned since becoming the head of the sorority and it shall be perfect and I swear to all that is holy, if the two of you mess this up for me—” She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath. Her eyes were now trained on Kiara. “Stay in your lane, Carrera.”

Kiara gave her a knowing smile. “Why do I feel like this is to do with more than just the dance?”

“You think I’m bothered that you’ve been whoring around with my leftovers?” Scarlet scoffed.

“Can’t be your leftovers if you never had him, Scarlet.” Kiara said with a shrug.

“Oh please! You only wanted him after you saw that he wanted me.” The redhead sneered, and honestly it took so much self-control for Kiara to not laugh at her in that moment. The stress of dealing with her parents and JJ had been taking over her life the past few days, she had almost forget how fun it was to get under Scarlet’s skin. It was sadistic and vindictive, but Kiara found herself enjoying this side of the deal.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She replied with that sickly sweet smile Kiara reserved just for her.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes at the brunette, a look that Kiara didn’t doubt wanted her six feet under, before she spoke up again. “Has he even asked to be your Valentine?” She asked, almost smug now. “He sure had mentioned a few things to me…”

Kiara frowned. “Last time I checked, some capitalist holiday doesn’t determine anything about me or my boyfriend or our relationship.” Her voice defensive and not as care-free as Kiara would’ve wanted.

The smug smirk on Scarlet’s face grew. “I don’t know, Kiara, I am pretty sure that means both of you are free reign…”

“Are you threatening to steal my boyfriend, Scarlet?” She snapped, quite done with the mind games the redhead was playing.

“Of course not,” She feigned innocence with a hand over her heart. “I’m just saying…things aren’t permanent, Kiara. It would be a shame if something came between the new campus power couple.”

Kiara felt something burn within her, something primal. She knew this was a part of the deal she made with JJ, to drive Scarlet mad with jealousy so she would be all over him when this deal was done. But still, hearing Scarlet say those words, to outwardly threaten Kiara on her relationship—as fake as it may be—she couldn’t help but feel a sense of possession wash over her. JJ was hers. Well, he wasn’t really but at least to the world he was.

“It would be tragic.” She simply stated, neither one of them turning away from the staring contest they seemed to have fallen into. She heard Tess clear her throat, even nudge her slightly but nothing seemed to tear her eyes away from the redhead in front of her. Until she felt an arm wrap around her, the heat of another body overwhelming her slightly.

“There’s my favourite girl.” The accent easily recognisable and she couldn’t help but smirk when she felt JJ press a kiss to her temple, a victorious look on her face as she watched Scarlet’s face drop a little.

“Hey,” She turned to look at JJ, her nose instantly scrunching in disgust when she noticed how sweaty he was, hair now pushed back with a thin headband and ball tucked under his other arm as he leaned some weight onto her. “I can see the sweat dripping off you.”

Seeming unfazed by the slightly unloving words coming from Kiara (words that seemed a little too close to the normal Kiara, not the one in love), JJ simply grinned down at her. “I thought you liked it when I was all hot and sweaty.”

Kiara rolled her eyes on instinct, but there was a smile tugging on her lips. “I also like it when you shower.” She countered.

Something sparkled in his eyes. “Is that an invite?”

“You wish, pretty boy.” She snorted.

“I don’t know, love,” He murmured, leaning down slightly so his lips now brushed her ear. “Think I’d quite fancy seeing you wet.”

Kiara elbowed him slightly, causing the blond to pout a little but it didn’t last long when he turned to see an amused looking Tess and a very pissed off Scarlet staring at the two of them.

“What?” He questioned innocently.

Scarlet’s expression instantly changed into one much more friendlier when she noticed the blond’s attention was on her. “Nothing,” She said with a tight smile. “You two are just so… _cute_. But Kiara actually has some work to do so—”

“Yikes, you didn’t tell her?” JJ gasped as he looked down at Kiara, disappointed. “C’mon, love, you promised me.”

“Promised you what?” Scarlet asked, almost too eagerly. Kiara only assumed she was waiting for some conflict between the happy couple, wanting to latch onto any sign of difficulty in their relationship.

“My lovely wee girlfriend promised me ice-cream after practice.” JJ stated with a smug smile. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Kiara wanted nothing more to slap that smile off his face, but when she saw the clear look of annoyance on Scarlet’s face, she decided to play along and get her revenge later. “Oh that’s right! Silly me, must’ve slipped my mind. Sorry, Scar.” She pouted mockingly. “Guess the feather garlands will just have to wait a few days.”

Scarlet huffed slightly. “You can’t just ignore your sorority duties—”

“Ah, but she can for her dashingly handsome boyfriend.” JJ interrupted, barely giving the redhead a chance to argue as he grabbed Kiara’s bag that was lying beside the table they had been working at. “C’mon, Scar, we’re friends, right? Promise it’s just this one time.” And he gave her a look that Kiara was sure most girls were unable to resist.

“Fine,” She sighed before smiling at JJ. “But only for you.”

“Thanks, mate!” JJ grinned, wasting no time in handing Kiara her bag before his arm found its way around her shoulders once again. Kiara, too busy trying to hide her snickering at his use of ‘mate’ when Scarlet was clearly expecting more, didn’t even bother fighting him on his insistent PDA as they walked out the hall with all eyes on them.

Soon enough, the couple found themselves walking around campus, ice cream cones in hand that Kiara had paid for (as JJ insisted that she did owe him one since he decided to continue play this game), and for once, she didn’t find herself too bothered by his presence. JJ could be…tolerable. She was beginning to learn that.

“God, the look on her face! Priceless!” Kiara snickered, seemingly far too overjoyed at the expense of a peeved Scarlet. JJ couldn’t help but smile along with her.

“She looked like she was about to throw a fucking fit.” JJ commented, the ball now between his feet as he lightly dribbled it along with them as they walked. He made it look effortless, just talking and eating and keeping it in control at the same time. She even noticed him try and show off, a few flicks here and there. Kiara only rolled her eyes after each one.

“Now _that_ would’ve made my day.” She laughed, turning to look at him to see him ungracefully take a bite into his ice cream. “God, you’re a monster!”

He looked at her, eyebrow cocked in amusement. “You just envy me, you and your sensitive teeth!”

She scoffed. “As if. Ice cream is meant for licking, not biting.” Though she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

“And which do you prefer, Carrera? Biting or licking, cause I’m sure I can abide to either or both.” He smirked at her, and before he could even think about getting close to her, she swiped her the cone in front of her in defence. He jumped back a little at the sudden coldness on his cheek, but only laughed as he casually wiped it off with his thumb before sucking it off his finger. Kiara tried not to stare at the action. “You’re too easy, love.”

“Fuck off.” She retorted but she was smiling too, though making sure to busy herself with eating her own ice cream and enjoying the view as they walked so he wouldn’t see it.

“How did the call with mummy dearest go?” He eventually asked, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Whatever playfulness that was on his face moments ago was now replaced with a much more serious look.

“I think she is actually excited to meet you again.” Kiara said with a small laugh, like the thought was completely and utterly impossible to believe. Well, that was because it was. “But that might be due to the strict dress code and rules she has made.”

“Christ, you Carrera women sure do love your rules.” He muttered. “So I guess all plans on wearing my coconut bra and grass skirt are out of the way? Their loss.”

“Oh, how will the world move on.” She deadpanned but he only grinned in response.

“So everything is sorted then?” He asked, humming slightly when she nodded in response. He watched her for a few moments, noticing how she suddenly seemed colder, more guarded since the conversation had shifted to her parents. It confused him, but more than anything it intrigued him. “Why do you let them bother you so much?”

She frowned as she turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just,” He shrugged, slowing down a little. His gaze was now focused on the football and Kiara found herself watching it too as he continued. “The Kiara I know is all bitchy and doesn’t take shit from no one. Usually you’re so chill with these things but…I don’t know, it’s weird seeing you all wound up.”

Kiara pressed her lips together, contemplating his words. “Yeah well, the Kiara you know isn’t necessarily the only one that exists, Maybank.” And it seemed her words were enough to shut him up for the time being.

She was grateful towards JJ and everything he was doing for her, but at the end of the day, she didn’t trust him. He just needed to know the bare necessities, just enough for a rough background to the story. She also didn’t plan on opening up her sob story to him anytime soon. They were associates in this little game they were playing, teammates even. But nothing more than that, and she definitely wouldn’t consider them friends. Just two old time rivals coming together for a mutual end goal. That’s all this was, that is what she had to keep reminding herself. Especially during their little moments together when no one else was about, like now.

The silence continued to hover over them as they finished their ice cream, Kiara wasn’t sure if she preferred it or not. A small part of her sought their usual banter, wanted that normalcy back instead of the weird energy between them now. She guessed the blond did too because soon she felt the ball nudge her foot (she almost tripped over it but we won’t talk about that). She turned to look at JJ with a raised eyebrow.

“Kick it back.” He told her and when she did, he barked out a laugh. “Oh, that was shite!”

“I did it exactly how you did it!” She quickly defended herself, but JJ only grinned.

“You used the wrong part of your foot and you lacked any control. It would’ve been so easy to take the ball from you, love.” He stated bluntly, although she could’ve bet he found some enjoyment in scolding her on a topic he was basically a professional in.

“You’re being so fucking picky about it. It’s just soccer.” She retorted with a small scoff.

“Football.” He quickly corrected. “And you’re bloody terrible at it.”

“I am just as good as you.”

“Bollocks!” He laughed, only to see that she was completely serious. “Alright then, take the ball off me.”

“What?”

“You heard me, love.” He stated confidently as he stood there, one foot on the ball. “Take it off me, let’s see what you got.”

“Easy.” She scoffed and moved forwards to kick the ball from under his foot, except the move was completely predictable and JJ was quick to knock the ball behind him before turning and placing his foot on the ball to prevent it from rolling away.

Kiara frowned a little at the smug look on his face and once again tried to kick the ball away from him from between his legs, yet he was barely effected as he quickly moved out of the way again. It continued on like this, a game of cat and mouse as Kiara relentlessly tried to steal the ball from him but JJ skilfully avoiding her. Kiara didn’t like losing and she sure as hell didn’t like the cocky look on his face. So, Kiara decided to play dirty.

Just as she reached to kick the ball once again, she let out a loud wince and stumbled a little until she fell into him. “Ow, ow!” She whimpered and JJ instantly gripped her waist so she wouldn’t fall to the ground. “Fuck, I think I rolled on my ankle.”

“Shit, you okay?” It was almost sad to see how easily he fell into her trap, but Kiara willed herself not to laugh as she sniffled slightly.

“I-It hurts to put weight on it.” She muttered, her hands clenching the material of his shirt in small fists.

“Right, fuck, love. Sit down, let me take a look at it.” The concern in his voice shocked her, and for a few seconds she forgot what she was meant to do. But as soon as that thought entered her head, she quickly battered it out. He was an athlete, he probably had his fair share of rolled ankles and pulled muscles over the years. He was probably just trying to be sympathetic towards her ‘injury’.

With that small moment of delusion out of her mind, she kneeled as though she was going to sit on the ground before she quickly used her ‘injured’ foot to knock the ball behind her. In a flash, she quickly let go off JJ and used the momentum to push him back slightly before she turned to the ball and victoriously placed her foot on it.

“AHA! Fuck you, Maybank, I win!” She grinned, watching as JJ caught himself after stumbling back a few steps. He looked between her and the ball with his mouth agape.

“You fucking cheat!” He accused, pointing his finger at her but he also couldn’t help but laugh slightly at the situation. He nodded his head before raising his hands in mock surrender. “Well fuck me, who would’ve thought you had a dirty side, Carrera.”

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Maybank.” Except this time, the comment was much more playful than earlier.

“We’ll see about that.” He grinned, nodding for her to pass the ball back to him and once she did, he kicked it up and caught it easily.

“Show off.” She muttered under her breath but it only seemed to inflate his ego further.

“I’m not the captain for nothing, love.” He replied simply with a shrug.

“Yeah, I could really feel that captain love from Coach earlier.” She snickered slightly. “What was up with that, by the way?” But JJ didn’t answer straight away, and Kiara almost wanted to slap her forehead for being a hypocrite. She didn’t want to open up with him about her parents, she couldn’t expect him not to be the same with his life.

“He’s just…he cares about his boys,” He eventually spoke up. “And he cares about the team. Anything that comes in the way of that can get him all wound up and prissy.”

“And you just so happen to be the thing getting in the way?” She guessed.

“Coach found out that I was failing a class or two and freaked out, it’s no big deal.” He shrugged off, but Kiara knew better. JJ’s scholarship had academical requirements and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that if he didn’t meet those standards, he was off the team.

She watched him closely, noticing the white knuckles as he squeezed the ball in his hands. She noticed the clenched jaw. She noticed how his eyes seemed to lack their usual mischief when JJ was unbothered or scheming. This was something that clearly bothered him, possibly even stressing him out. All JJ had known was soccer, it was what got him here and what gave him his popularity here. She didn’t know what he would actually be without that. And maybe it was the sugar rush from the ice cream or maybe it was because he found her in a similar state when he offered his help, but Kiara didn’t bother to stop the words from leaving her mouth.

“What if I tutored you?”

JJ turned to look at her with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What?” He slowly stopped until he was just standing there, clearly shocked by the offer.

Kiara took a deep breath, stopping in front of him. “I could help you.” She stated. “I mean, we’re gonna have to spend a bunch of time together anyways so people believe we are a couple. Might as well make that time useful.”

“And you’d be willing to help me?” His eyes narrowed slightly when he asked.

“Seems fitting since you’re helping me.” She said with a small smile.

“That…that would be great, actually.” His voice much softer and genuine than before, it lacked its usual moxie and sarcasm. It was the same voice he used when he confessed his love for her in front of her parents.

“Good.” She said, clearing her throat.

“Good.” He replied, both staring at each other for a few moments before they began walking again.

“Plus, kinda hard to exploit your popularity if you’re kicked off the team. How could I have a boyfriend who’s the captain of a soccer team he’s not even in?” She added with a grin, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“I always knew you were in it for the social reputation boost!” He laughed, shaking his head.

“Guess I’m just superficial like that.” She shrugged, laughing along with him.

“Oh, by the way…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s _football_.”

“Oh fuck off!”

To say Kiara was nervous was an understatement.

The dinner between JJ and her parents had been completely different. Kiara could even admit that she was excited for that dinner, she couldn’t wait to see her parents deal with _the_ JJ Maybank and she couldn’t wait for their disappointment to follow. Except that isn’t what happened and this dinner was just a reminder of that. Things were different now, this dinner was different. This was no longer about upsetting her parents or finding a way to rebel against their wishes. This was now about having JJ play semi-decent boyfriend in front of all their business associates and keep her parents at bay for the next few weeks while they stay in town. This was a whole new ball game and Kiara was no longer in control.

And she hated every single part of it.

JJ noticed the fiddling and the inability to sit still, he was also pretty sure she was cutting blood flow to his hand. Thankfully, her parents hadn’t picked up on it. They had demanded that the four of them ride to the dinner together by one of their drivers to save the effort of finding parking (but also probably to assure that JJ and Kiara would actually show up on time). It had been a fairly awkward ride, not much said between the two couples except an approving nod from Anna when she saw their attire. But other than that, it had been deadly silent.

Kiara couldn’t help but feel out of her element. She was all dolled up, adorning expensive jewellery that probably cost more than the dress she was currently wearing. She was used to this, or at least she should’ve been after all the years of business dinners and charity galas. But when she played the part of rich, spoilt daughter—Kiara had never felt so unlike herself. She couldn’t even imagine how JJ felt.

Yet, when she turned to look at him, all dressed up in a fancy new suit that her mother had practically insisted he wore and his hair groomed to look like one of those stuck up boat boys she grew up with, she couldn’t help but miss the old JJ. Her JJ. This was so unlike him but he didn’t seem bothered. He looked unbothered by the whole event, way too relaxed compared to her. She contemplated asking him if he had taken something, she also contemplated asking him if he could lend her some. She could only wish to appear as calm and collected as he did.

“You look like you’re about to combust, calm down, love.” He muttered to her, his lips brushing her ear and his voice low to assure that her parents didn’t hear. She couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her back.

“How are you so…” She trailed off, but she knew JJ understood her words. He simply squeezed her hand, maybe to try and comfort her or to remind her that he was starting to lose feeling in his hand.

“You do what they want,” He whispered to her, and they both knew her parents were probably looking over with curious gazes, wondering what the two teens were whispering about but Kiara couldn’t bring herself to care as she focused on JJ’s words. “Play the part, be their dancing monkey. People like them would love some entertainment, just have to make sure you’re not the focus of it.”

She turned her head a little so she could look at him, their faces so close that she could feel his warm breath against her cheek. She hadn’t been this close to him since the night of the party on the roof top, she hadn’t been given the chance until now. “When did you become so wise?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, love.” He retorted with a wink, a small smile tugging on his lips when he heard her laugh a little.

The two of them were so wrapped up with each other that she barely noticed they had arrived at their destination. Predictable, truly. Dine at some fancy five star hotel and give each other the chance to show off. It was the least subtle ‘subtle’ brag in the book, and yet it was used constantly. It would’ve made her laugh if she weren’t so nervous. As the four of them clambered out of the vehicle, JJ and Kiara found themselves lingering a little behind her parents, giving them a chance to have a moment before they entered the lion’s den.

“You ready for your three hour glimpse into hell?” She whispered to JJ, arm wrapped around his bicep and hands intertwined as they walked through the overly extravagant hotel lobby. She noticed JJ slowing down a little to stare, she couldn’t blame him though. She may have grown up in this world but sometimes it was hard for Kiara to remember that not everyone just casually stumbled upon five star hotels so often.

“Hell is a lot fancier that I expected.” He responded, finally tearing his gaze away from the massive chandeliers that were hanging above them and turned his focus back to the brunette beside him. “Not too shabby, if I’m being honest.”

“You’ll be begging to leave when you meet the occupants.” She scoffed slightly but JJ only smirked.

“I’m not opposed to a little begging, Carrera.”

For the first time in her life, she found herself somewhat grateful for JJ and his horribly timed sexual innuendos. She had attended enough dinner parties in her life to know how boring and draining they could become, it was a relief that she would have someone at her side to suffer through it with. It would be nice to have someone her own age. These events were usually overpowered by rich old guys and their trophy wives. The closest she would find to someone her age would most likely be the waiters at these restaurants. Having JJ there would at least be a balance of some sort.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Maybank.” She countered, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes seemed to light up slightly when she decided to play along with him rather than shutting him down as she usually did.

“It’s not like I’ll see any of these old geezers after tonight so might as well make the most of my trip in hell.” He sighed dramatically, grinning down at Kiara who only wished she could return the same sentiment.

“Wish I could say the same.” She muttered, and when she heard her mother calling her name, she instinctively squeezed JJ’s hand tighter.

“You’ll be fine, love.” He whispered to her. “What’s the worst that can happen?” And he said it so lightly that Kiara knew he was expecting some ludicrous answer. Kiara was fully prepared to give him one. But as they entered the room they would be dining in for the night, she found herself making her eye contact with the worst possibility.

“Rafe.”

JJ looked down at her with a frown on his lips. “Rafe is the worst thing that can happen? I mean, as much as I want to agree, I highly doubt—” But the words died down when she took his chin and turned his head towards the table where he saw the unmistakable scene of Rafe Cameron, sitting amongst his father and their fellow associates. “Fucking wanker, he didn’t even tell me.”

Kiara rolled her eyes. “You really expect Rafe, of all people, to give you a heads up?”

“Fair point.”

Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. And she knew JJ was thinking the same when his hand squeezed hers. Acting like a couple in front of people that didn’t really know them with the exception of her parents? That was fine, totally chill. They could do that. But Rafe? He was a whole new story. He knew them both, he also knew their history. Kiara couldn’t help but think this is what he wanted, to have that power over them that he could exploit in front of all the important business associates. She doubted it would look good for her parents if it was revealed their only daughter brought a fake British boyfriend who has actually one of her worst enemies and who she has been insulting for as long as she could remember. Yeah, wasn’t really a good first impression. And when she saw Rafe look over at them with a smug smile, she knew he was thinking the exact same thing.

They weren’t just playing their part as a couple anymore. They had become Rafe’s entertainment for the night and neither of them were sure what that would intel.

“Is this an appropriate time to say shit hath hit thy fan?” JJ muttered and Kiara couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Just cause you share the accent, doesn’t make you anywhere near as good as Shakespeare.” Kiara hissed, though she kept her face fairly passive due to the lingering eyes of Rafe Cameron.

“Bloke is bloody overrated anyways.” JJ shrugged, not allowing Kiara a chance to reply before he tugged them towards their seats at the large table. But he wasn’t wrong. Shit had hit the fan and the night was more out of control than they expected.

As the couple took their seats—which just so happened to be across from their current pain in the ass for the night—JJ’s arm instantly rested along the back of her chair before he tugged her closer to him.

“You think we can do this?” Kiara whispered to him, her gaze now focused on her clasped hands on her lap, though she desperately wanted to glare at Rafe as she spoke. “I mean, he knows _us…_ he knows our…past.”

“That’s what he wants, love,” His breath tickled her ear as he spoke, seemingly unbothered at the close intimacy in front of so many people. “He wants a show then we’ll give him a show, don’t give the wanker a bloody chance to win.” She felt his fingers gently grip her chin before he pulled her face up until their gazes met. “I don’t like to lose, Carrera. Especially not to Rafe _fucking_ Cameron.”

She smirked a little. “Then we don’t lose, Maybank.”

His face mirrored hers. “Atta girl.”

This was just another game, Kiara assured herself. Just in the same way she and JJ were playing a game against the world right now. This was just a game between them and Rafe and she would be damned if she let him win, if she gave him the chance to humiliate them in front of her parents and all their fellow business associates. JJ, in turn, seemed to feel the exact same way. The night was spent with the two of them whispering to each other (usually just making snide remarks at the other guests and mocking the way they acted), lingering gazes were exchanged and little touches here and there. They didn’t give Rafe a chance to catch them out, it would be hard to call them enemies in that moment when they painted the perfect picture of a young couple that were deeply in love.

It angered him though. She could see the narrowed eyes as he glared at them from across the table, how his dashing smile would change the second Ward Cameron would turn around and he would scowl at the couple. Rafe wasn’t stupid—as much she wished he was—he, unlike the rest of the student body, wasn’t buying the whole sudden relationship. There was more to it, and as he sat across from them and watched them play happy couple, he was more determined than ever to expose them. He just needed to wait for the right chance, even if Kiara was just as determined to never let him see that opportunity.

Until the conversation shifted from boring business deals and stock markets to the three teenagers in the room.

“So,” A stocky man with a comically large moustache began, Kiara believed his name was Rupert Acker. “Rafe, son, your father tells me you’re on the soccer team.”

“Football.” JJ muttered under his breath. Kiara smiled a little.

“Yes, sir.” Rafe nodded with a charming smile on his lips. Another classic move done by the bourgeoise, what better way to know your partners than through the children they raised? “Top team in the tri-state area.” He added proudly.

“What a boy you got there, Ward.” Acker praised with an approving nod whilst Ward shrugged in that classic smug ‘what can you do but expect perfection?’ kind of way. Kiara couldn’t resist the scoff that left her lips, the one that caught the attention of Acker and the other business men. “Is there a problem, Miss Carrera?”

Kiara could feel the holes her parents were burning into the side of her head, and she could feel the small squeeze JJ gave her thigh. The latter being a reminder for her to play the game, to not let Rafe win. “Not all, Mr Acker,” Kiara said with a sweet smile. “It’s just, if you are going to praise the team, then who better to commend than the captain himself?”

“And who would that be? Rafe, I assume.” Acker said with a small huff as he sent the young Cameron an approving nod, murmurs of agreement from the others followed.

“Actually, that would be me.” Silence fell over the table.

The hand on Kiara’s thigh tightened and she felt herself placing her hand over his, a sign to reassure him she was there as all the eyes fell upon him.

“And who may you be?” Acker finally spoke up, as though this was the first time he was finally noticing JJ since the night had begun. Something she was sure JJ would’ve preferred until now. Then again, the blond did quite like being the centre of attention.

“JJ Maybank.” He said his name with pride. “Captain of the best _football_ team in the tri-state area and lucky boyfriend of Kiara Carrera.”

“And a Brit.” Acker noted, though Kiara wasn’t sure if his voice was laced with curiosity or judgement. His eyes moved back to Rafe who seemed to be content glaring at the blond. “You boys know each other then?”

“Quite well, actually.” Rafe spoke up, and the devilish glint in his eyes worried Kiara. “Not only in the same soccer team, but also same fraternity. Brothers in sports and beyond.”

“How charming.” Another voice spoke up, belonging to the tall, lanky man on the other side of the table who Kiara was pretty sure introduced himself as Walter Hartford. “Rafe found himself in the shadow of…an Englishman.” Mocking laughs and snickers echoed around the table.

“Better an Englishman than uptight American wanker.” JJ scoffed under his breath and Kiara knew that he intended for Rafe to hear.

“I do believe my history with Mr Maybank is nowhere near as riveting as the one he shares with Kiara,” Rafe spoke up and Kiara had never wished more than ever that he would shut that big mouth of his. “Isn’t that right, you two? Happy couple now but things weren’t always so…simple.”

“It’s a good thing it’s none of your business then, isn’t it, mate?” JJ countered with a scowl.

“Don’t be like that, _mate_. It’s just some friendly dinner conversation.” Rafe said with an easy grin before he turned to the other guests. “It’s actually quite a funny story.”

“Rafe—” Kiara attempted to speak up but Hartford raised his hand to stop her. She bit back her annoyance. She stole a glance towards her parents who both had quite passive looks on their face, but she knew better. She could practically hear the gears turning in their heads, ready to jump in with an excuse if things went south.

“Well, I must admit it has been quite a few years since I’ve been able to enjoy some good youthful drama,” Hartford noted and Kiara couldn’t help but scrunch her nose in disgust at the way he said it. Creep much? “Please, share your story with us.”

“I don’t think it’s one you’d fancy to hear, a wee bit boring if you ask me.” JJ said with a casual shrug on his shoulders.

“Amuse us.” Hartford retorted.

“Let me rephrase that then since my accent clearly must’ve lost the words in translation,” She noted how much sharper his tone was. “ _We_ don’t fancy sharing our story as entertainment for a bunch of nosey pensioners.”

“JJ.” She hissed.

“Kiara, control your boyfriend.” Anna Carrera scolded her daughter, despite what the smile and clenched teeth may suggest.

“What JJ means to say,” Kiara spoke up, giving JJ a pointed look before she turned to the aghast-looking dinner guests. “It’s nothing special.”

“So JJ being a lady’s man and you hating his guts only days before you announced your relationship officially isn’t anything special?” Rafe piped up with an innocent tilt of his head. “I mean, I can respect that you two wanted to keep it on the down-low but JJ sure did a good job tricking everyone with the amount of women he had warming his bed.”

“You lying git!”

“Then again, I can’t blame Kiara for wanting to keep the relationship a secret. I mean, the drop in social classes from her last boyfriend is just…” He trailed off, his eyes meeting Kiara’s from across the table. “ _Yikes_.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a good affair.” Acker laughed, so unaware of the tension between the three teenagers and so willing to hear more. This was what rich people loved, the messy situations that just got juicier the further you dived in. This is what they had been waiting for, what they really wanted despite the dinner being organised for business. They wanted the next big thing to whisper around to their associates. They wanted a scandal and Rafe was handing them one on a silver-plate.

“Oh, but it just keeps getting better.” Rafe smirked as he turned to Acker. “Why don’t you ask our little captain here what his parents do for a living.” Kiara felt JJ’s body completely tense up.

Acker frowned a little but overall seemed quite amused by the statement. All eyes turned to JJ once again as the businessman spoke up. “Go on then, boy. What do your parents do?”

“Yeah, JJ,” Kiara had never wanted to slap the smirk off Rafe’s face so badly until that moment. “Tell everyone what daddy dearest is doing overseas in—” But before he even had a chance to finish his comment, JJ quickly pushed himself out of his seat, his hand ripped away from her thigh.

“You are a fucking prat, Rafe Cameron.” And with that, JJ didn’t think twice before storming out.

Kiara never considered herself a malicious person. Her rivalry with JJ could get messy at some points, and sometimes she did have the passing thought of something horrible happening to Scarlet every once in a while. But Kiara knew there was a line. She never crossed that line, she wouldn’t dare. Rafe, however, seemed to have no inkling of that line or maybe he didn’t care about it. But if there was one thing Kiara knew for certain, it was that he had definitely crossed that line tonight. She liked to rile up JJ more than the next person did but she had never seen JJ so angry…so wound up. And considering the look on Rafe’s face, he was expecting said reaction from JJ. He was probably counting on it.

She had never hated Rafe Cameron until that moment.

Kiara glanced around the dinner table and judging by the looks on everyone’s face, she knew that there was little she could say that could help the situation. There was nothing she could do to scavenge what was left of the night, not after the bomb Rafe just dropped on everyone. So, Kiara did the last thing she expected herself to do—she took a page out of the ‘ _stuck up rich folk’s guide to fixing a scandal_ ’ book and did the only thing she could.

She gave them a bigger scandal to focus on.

“You know, Rafe, I have a funny story of my own to share.” Kiara said with an innocent smile as she turned to businessmen who looked at her, eager for her to continue. “I mean, what’s funnier than Ward Cameron’s son hiding three pregnancies from the public with three separate women last year.” Her smile grew when she saw Rafe’s face pale slightly. “I mean, three? You think the boy would learn how to wrap it up after he paid the first girl to keep her mouth shut.”

Suddenly whispers and murmurs broke out amongst the dinner table. Rafe scowled before pointing an accusing finger at her. “You little—”

“As much as I’d love to sit here and share more stories, I have other places to be.” Kiara said, giving Rafe a wink before she turned to follow the path JJ took minutes before. Kiara could’ve sworn that she saw a proud smirk on her father’s lips before she did.

It didn’t take her long to find JJ considering he probably didn’t know where to go. Neither of them said much as she took a seat next to him on the overly-plush couch he had been sitting on in the hotel lobby. She didn’t push him to say anything. As much as she disliked him, she knew the topic was sensitive and if she were in his position, the last thing she would want is someone prying. So, they just sat there in silence until he eventually broke it.

“I’m sorry we lost.” The game. He meant the game.

“You really think I’d let us lose to that _wanker?_ ” She retorted, her eyebrows raised as she horribly tried to mimic his accent which just caused the blond to laugh.

“Do I wanna know?” He asked her with a knowing smirk.

“I’ll tell you later.” She said, shrugging innocently. JJ’s eyes lingered on her face for a few seconds before he shook his head, laughing because he knew very well what she was capable of when she wanted to revenge.

“Oh, and love?”

“Yeah?”

“Please never do an English accent ever again.”

“Deal.”

It was a surprise to Kiara when she received a call from her mother and it didn’t end with them yelling at each other.

Her and JJ left the dinner party early, not even going to check up on the mess Kiara left the table in as they quickly jumped in the car and asked the driver to take them back to the campus. After bailing and wrecking the night (although she was adamant that was Rafe’s fault), Kiara had been waiting to receive the lecture that was bound to come from her mother. She was ready for an explosion.

What she actually received was a half-assed attempt of her mother approving how she dealt with the situation (Anna was still certain there were easier ways to do it though) and a date for the next formal event she expected both her and JJ to attend. She wanted them there _again._

JJ was just as shocked as she was.

Between JJ and herself, they made a mutual non-verbal decision to not talk about the dinner party—or at least avoid everything Rafe said—and just focus on the days they had until the next event. And as the days passed, the dinner party was slowly forgotten about (or at least, it wasn’t the most pressing matter at hand). There were other things to focus on, like the approaching dance and continuing to fool the student body. Next thing they knew, over a week had passed and the worst thing they had to deal with was Scarlet’s overbearing Godzilla party-planner persona.

Kiara was finding it much easier to be around him so often, they had found an odd space in between the ‘acting like a loving couple’ and the ‘how many times can I insult you until I run out’ bubble, leaving them in this awkward grey space which most pitted as joking-flirty banter between them. They didn’t bother to correct anyone.

However, one thing Kiara never assumed she would be doing when she made this deal with JJ was integrating herself into his life. It was stupid, they were acting like a couple so of course they would have to spend time around people in each other’s lives. But she had mostly assumed that would be around the sorority girls where they could piss off Scarlet. She didn’t realise she would be buddying it up with his friends.

And yet, here she found herself with JJ and his buddies at another one of Scarlet’s dance prep meetings from hell, and it surprised her how easily she was able to fit in with the group. When JJ first dragged her over to the table they were working at, she couldn’t help but resent Tess for abandoning her (wasn’t actually her fault, she was taking a test). But Kiara just wished she had someone she knew to balance it out. The only person she had was JJ and that wasn’t exactly comforting.

But the longer Kiara spent with his friends, she realised very quickly that JJ’s friends were nothing like him. It was a relief, really. John B had pulled her into a hug the second she reached the table, it was slightly intimidating but it took three seconds of knowing him to realise he was harmless—he reminded Kiara of a big, cuddly himbo. She even told him as much and he just thanked her with a massive grin. Pope was a little harder to get a read on, maybe because he was being just as analytical as she was. But when they began talking, they instantly clicked and she found some relief in Pope—he reminded her of Tess in some ways. The last one she met was Sarah (who had to sneak in to the hall since she was not a part of the sorority or the frat) who only gave Kiara a look-over before grinning and welcoming her to the group. Kiara couldn’t help but think there was more to that grin but she didn’t question it.

“Oi, piss off, that was my glue gun!” JJ whined as he tried to snatch it back from Kiara but she only grinned, holding it further away from him.

“You snooze you lose, Maybank!” She stated quite proudly until she found JJ practically crawling over her lap to try and grab the glue gun. “Get off, you oaf! You weigh, like, a tonne!”

JJ gasped dramatically, looking down at Kiara with a small pout. “Are you fat-shaming me, Kiara Carrera?”

“Are you crushing my lungs, JJ Maybank?” She retorted. “I’ll answer that for you—YES! Now, get off!” She huffed as she attempted to push him off.

“I thought you liked when I was on top.” JJ commented with a grin as he accepted his defeat and fell back into his seat.

“And I thought you liked it when I was in control.” She countered, watching as JJ’s expression faltered for a second before he quickly cleared his throat.

“Aye right, love.”

“I always knew JJ would be a bottom.” Pope snickered as he quickly avoided the roll of string the blond threw his way.

“You’re assumption is right then.” Kiara grinned as she turned to JJ, reaching out to pinch his cheeks. “Little JJ just likes to be dominated in the—”

“Oh, piss off!” He huffed, slapping her hand away. He narrowed his eyes at the laughing pair. “I knew it was a bloody bad idea to introduce you two.”

“I beg to differ,” Sarah spoke up from her spot beside Kiara, her feet casually sprawled out on John B’s lap. “It’s about time we meet the girl you never shut up about!”

The grin on Kiara’s face grew as she turned to look at JJ, who was now pointedly glaring at Sarah as if his gaze alone could send her six feet under. “Aw, _babe_ , you talk about me?”

He scoffed. “Barely.”

“Quite often actually.” Pope spoke up.

“Like, at least three times a day.” Sarah agreed.

“I swear I heard him say your name in his sleep.” John B interjected.

Kiara didn’t miss the ways that JJ’s cheeks burned bright red.

“You lot are a bunch of pricks.” He huffed before standing up, grabbing his phone from the table and slipping it into his pocket. “I’m gonna grab a bite, anyone want anything?” When everyone shook his head, he looked down at Kiara. “You sure?”

“Well, if you’re offering.” She teased. “Surprise me.”

“Be careful what you wish for, love.” He grinned, pressing a kiss to her cheek (an action both of them have become accustomed too over the past week) before he ran off. Kiara didn’t even realise she was still smiling until Sarah pointed it out, nudging her lightly.

“You know, you surprised me.” Sarah said, her eyes focused on the lanterns she was currently helping John B decorate. They looked horribly tacky but no one was going to admit that to Scarlet.

Kiara turned to sneak a glance at her, she didn’t fancy burning her fingers with the hot glue gun again. “How come?”

“Well, it was no secret that you and JJ were always at each other’s throats,” She pointed out, snickering a little at the thought. “So when you started dating, a part of me thought…”

“Oh shit?” Kiara suggested and Sarah laughed, nodding her head.

“Yeah, I did.” She admitted before she shrugged. “I guess I didn’t expect you to be such a good influence on him.”

“I don’t think I had ever seen JJ hold a book before you guys started dating.” Pope commented with an easy smile. The look on his face when he had walked in on the couple studying the other day was comical, to say the least.

“He’s also much happier.” John B pointed up, and Kiara could’ve sworn that he looked a little grateful when he said it. “JJ can be temperamental and difficult but…it’s been easier with you.”

Kiara found herself speechless as they continued to talk about the changes they had noticed in their friend. A part of her felt guilty that they didn’t know the truth, that this was just a deal made between the couple that will end the second her parents stepped on their flight back home. But another part of Kiara, a stronger part you may even say, felt proud. It was safe to say that she didn’t plan on getting along with JJ so well (they had their moments, but they mostly gotten along) but she hadn’t realised she had so much on an effect on him. It made her wonder if he had changed her too. Or maybe his friends were too optimistic and these were just aspects of JJ that he had kept hidden until now.

She didn’t get much of a chance to pick at their brains anymore because soon the blond was falling into the seat next her, a small grin on his face as he extended his hand out to her, offering the chocolate bar to her. Instantly her smile widened when she noticed the Snickers bar and she quickly thanked him, though the thought remained in her head whether or not he knew it was her favourite chocolate bar or if it was a lucky guess on his part. She guessed the latter and continued to eat her chocolate.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” JJ quickly shoved his chocolate bar in his mouth, allowing his free hands to dig around his bag until he found what he was looking for. “You’re coming to the game tomorrow night, right?”

She looked at him with an incredulous look before nodding. “Of course I am,” She scoffed. “Scarlet would rip my head off and claim sorority treason if I didn’t.”

He chuckled slightly, clearing his throat before he thrusted a bunch of fabric on her lap. “I thought, since we were official now…” He trailed off, almost as though he was nervous.

Her eyebrows furrowed together as she watched him closely before she took the fabric in her hands. “What’s this?”

“I think it’s pretty obviously his jersey.” Pope deadpanned.

“I know that!” Kiara rolled her eyes, staring at the top for a few more seconds before looking at JJ. “What, do you want me to like wash it or something? I thought you were at least capable of the simple house chores, Maybank.”

“No, uh, I thought you could wear it at my game tomorrow.” He said, and now it was Kiara who was quiet. “Since you’re my girl and all…make things _properly_ official.” A part of Kiara was stunned by the gesture, the other half was slapping her forehead and saying ‘why didn’t I think of that?!’.

“Don’t you need your jersey for the game?” She asked with a small frown. Something about wearing his jersey felt oddly intimate, and something about his nerves felt oddly real.

“I have two, you muppet.” JJ scoffed, suddenly replacing his nerves with his usual easy-going attitude. “Thought you should wear the spare, represent your man.” He added with a grin. She was grateful for the return of normalcy in their banter.

“Hm, something just tells me this is one of your weird territorial kinks, Maybank.” She countered with her own smirk.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “You caught me.”

“But,” She said with a softer smile as she placed the jersey in her bag. “I’ll play along, I guess. Since I’m meant to be a supportive girlfriend and all that bullshit.”

“Can’t wait to see you tomorrow night, love.” He winked at her. “But pretty sure that jersey would look better—”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll cut boob holes into all your jerseys before tomorrow.” She interrupted, giving him a pointed glare.

“Feisty, I like it.”

“So, you taking Kiara to the dance then?”

JJ turned to look at the teammate that just sat next to him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. JJ knew the members in his team, even had a handful of conversations with each of them during their practices. But for a lot of the members—especially the ones that weren’t in the frat—JJ barely talked to them about anything other than football. It wasn’t something that was necessarily bad, plus practice didn’t allow time for idle chit-chat majority of the time.

So, for Liam Marlow (a sophomore he had never really spoken to outside of practice) to suddenly approach him and start up a conversation about his relationship…well, you could understand JJ’s utter confusion and slightly over-defensive tone.

“Since when was that your fucking business?”

“Woah, easy there, tiger.” Liam laughed, hands up as though to show JJ he meant no harm. “I’m just saying, since you guys are an item, I’m guessing you are taking her to the Valentine Bash.”

JJ, who had now paused tying his boots up as he was doing before Liam showed up, narrowed his eyes at the younger player. “What’s it to you? Trying to make a move on my girl?”

“Green is not a nice colour on you.” Liam noted with a smile JJ didn’t particularly like. “I was just saying cause I didn’t hear anything about you asking her.”

“So?” JJ questioned, still very confused as to why he was even still continuing this conversation. He should be focusing on the game that was about to start in thirty minutes.

Liam laughed, thinking JJ was putting on the whole naive act. Except when the blond didn’t laugh with him, he quickly realised how clueless JJ really was. “Dude, c’mon! What was your plan, to just ask her?”

“Am I supposed to send her a message through a fucking raven or something?” He snapped back. He didn’t like being the one left in the dark, he usually liked to be the one that knew.

“It’s like…tradition, dude! Girls love the big gesture, the whole shebang!” Liam told him before giving JJ a sympathetic pat on the back. “Look, I’m just saving you the social embarrassment. You and Kiara are like, the new ‘it’ couple. You gotta do something big.”

JJ frowned. “Right, right.”

“You’ve got like, a week. You’ll be fine, bud. I’m sure she won’t hate whatever you come up and reject you in front of everyone.” And with that, Liam was off—most likely to warm up like he should be doing right now. But Liam’s words stuck with him. He knew there was no way that Kiara would dump him if he didn’t do some huge gesture, but JJ couldn’t help but think that maybe she was still expecting one. That maybe the whole student body was expecting one. And JJ had nothing planned. He wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to confront Kiara on this matter and discuss it with her or simply surprise her. In fact, he mostly just assumed they would be going to the dance anyways. He quickly pushed it to the back of his head.

He had a game he needed to focus on. A game he needed to win.

But just as he was about to close his eyes to regain focus and put him in that ‘game day’ mode, he heard the unmistakable sound of the John B screaming ‘HEY BABY!’ and was ready to yell at his himbo friend to stay focused on his warm up. Except instead of seeing the sight of John B and Sarah snogging on the side lines, his eyes focused on a certain curly-haired brunette.

Kiara.

More specifically, Kiara wearing his jersey.

He shouldn’t have been shocked by the sight. He gave her his jersey, he told her to wear it. Yet, somehow, he couldn’t stop staring at her. The jersey on him was quite tight and form-fitting. On her, it was looser and more flowy. It reached about her mid-thigh and when his gaze followed the hem of the jersey, he was pleasantly surprised to find that she was wearing shorts. He didn’t even care that the sight of her in those shorts was hypocritical to the other week when she mocked him for not wearing a jacket and being irresponsible with the cold weather. He couldn’t bring himself to care because he couldn’t stop staring at her legs, how they looked long and smooth and how his hand itched to find its way on her thigh like it had done many times before.

And once his gaze returned back to the jersey, JJ felt a tug, somewhere deep inside him. It was a pleasant tug, one of approval. There was some primal part of JJ, somewhere deep within him that even he wasn’t aware of until now, that approved seeing her in his clothing. That enjoyed knowing it was his name and number that she was wearing for everyone to see. Suddenly, all Kiara’s territorial jokes felt a little too real.

He quickly cleared his throat when he noticed she was coming over and finished tying his boots before he stood up, not noticing she was standing right there until he found himself chest-to-chest with her. Kiara, a little shocked by how close they were, took a step back and out of instinct, his arms shot out to keep her close.

“Hey.” He finally whispered out, his hands now fisting the material at her waist, not that she seemed too bothered. In fact, Kiara’s hands found themselves resting on JJ’s chest and a part of him wanted to hope that it was just as instinctual as his was, that it wasn’t just an act for the public.

“You look you’re about to throw up,” She noted, her eyebrows furrowed together. “Don’t tell me _the_ JJ Maybank is nervous to play a game. Scared you’ll lose?” She teased him. JJ knew what she was doing, and he was grateful for it. She was trying to distract him. She probably thought he was genuinely nervous and not having a million and one thoughts about her in that jersey.

“Oh please, me? Losing? You humour me, Carrera.” He retorted and smirked at her, though he knew it felt a little more forced than usual.

“How would I live with the shame of dating the captain of the losing team?” She said with a dramatic gasp. “I could never be caught dating a… _loser._ ”

JJ rolled his eyes, his hands lightly squeezing her sides as she snickered in response. “Most girls usually kiss their fellas for good luck.” He said to her, eyebrows raised.

“You’re lucky I’m not most girls then.” She replied, patting his chest with a small smirk, laughing a little when she noticed the exaggerated pout on his lips.

“There’s our captain!”

“Oh fuck me.” Kiara scoffed, rolling her eyes the second she heard the voice before she turned to Scarlet with a fake smile. JJ tried to hide his amusement.

He turned to look at Scarlet, his usual chilled out smirk on his face. He noticed pretty quickly that she had a college football jersey on—one of the basic ones from the college gift shop—paired with some leggings and a puffer jacket; an overall basic outfit to keep her warm, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the massive ‘#7’ painted on her cheek and a large poster that had ‘ _look at_ _#_ _7, he’s our secret weapon, killer skills and looks from heaven_ ’ painted on it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at it or burn it. A quick glance at Kiara told him that she was probably thinking the same thing.

“Wow, Scar, really feeling the team spirit.” JJ noted, tearing his eyes away from the awful sign and towards the redhead’s face where he tried not to focus on the number on her cheek. He waited for that tug, the same one he felt when he saw Kiara in his jersey but it never came. It was just different with Kiara.

Scarlet’s eyes trailed down to look at the matching jerseys the couple were wearing before looking back up, a tight smile on her lips. “I hope you don’t mind, Kiara.” She said, though there was no sympathy in her voice.

“Not at all,” Kiara replied with a grin on her face. “I mean, Jay is the best player. They wouldn’t make him team captain for nothing. He’s gonna have fans, I just happen to be his number one.” She looked over at him and he couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow at the use of the nickname.

“I’m a lucky man.” JJ stated, tugging Kiara a little closer, his fingers still gripping the fabric of the jersey.

“Of course,” Scarlet muttered, her words sharp and short. “Good luck with the game.” And with that, she disappeared back into the crowd of students that were making their way to the bleachers. The second she was out of sight, neither one of them could hold back their laughter, clutching onto one another for support.

“How come you didn’t make me a sign?” JJ pouted and Kiara looked up at him with a small grin.

“Count yourself lucky I even came down to wish you good luck, Maybank. Such a demanding boyfriend.” She commented.

“What, no Jay this time?” He teased before she rolled her eyes, whacking his hands off her waist.

“Oh, shut up!” She muttered. “I’ll see you after the game…good luck.”

“Like I need it.” He said with a smug grin but just before she could walk off, he was reaching his hand out to pull her back. “Really? No kiss? C’mon, Kiara! You aren’t even trying.”

Kiara sighed as she gripped his chin, turning his head to the side before pressing a kiss to his cheek. “There! Now stop whining and go warm up or do whatever it is that soccer players do.” She said before she began making her way towards the bleachers.

“It’s football!” He called out from behind her but she was already gone. He shook his head, grinning to himself before he grabbed his shin guards and made his way over to where the other players were warming up.

It was no surprise that they won. It was a tense game, JJ would give them that. A lot of close calls were made but in the end, they won 3-2. When the final buzzer went off to indicate the end of the extra time and the game itself, JJ felt himself being thrown around as pats of congratulations and celebrations were slapped on his back and screams of victory from his teammates and the people on the bleachers. The second his vision was cleared of his teammates, his eyes searched through the massive throng of people until it stopped on her, and instantly JJ’s grin widened.

He wasted no time before he was running towards her, not giving her a chance to escape before he hugged her close in his sweaty embrace, shaking his hair out like a dog and laughing when she swore at him. Kiara eventually managed to push him away, slapping his arm and glaring at him but his grin remained. Seeing her standing there, no longer pulling away from his hold despite making comments on how terrible he smelt and laughing along with him when he heard the absurd chants people began to make, JJ made his decision.

“See, told you I’d win, Kie!” He cheered, yelling over the noise of everyone else.

“Kie?” She questioned with a smile.

“You get Jay, I get Kie!” He argued with a smug look on his face, especially when he saw her own smile grow.

He was going to give her the biggest Valentine’s Day Bash proposal ever and he was going to make everyone in this damn college wish they were Kiara Carrera.

Especially Scarlet Sinclair.

“It’s just stupid. I honestly couldn’t think of anything worse.”

Tess narrowed her eyes at her friend, looking unconvinced by the dramatic claim she had just made. “Really? _That’s_ the worst thing you can think of?”

“Tell me something that is worse than big flashy proposals!” Kiara argued, clutching the books she was holding closer to her chest. Tess and herself had just left their sociology lecture when this conversation began. All week students had been receiving absurd and over-the-top asks to the Bash that weekend and Kiara was absolutely done with in. “Making it some huge public event makes it feel…meaningful.”

“Some of them can be quite cute though!” Tess pointed out. “Like Jonathan White’s proposal to Jack Davidson.”

“The acapella one? God no, it was horrible.” Kiara scrunched her nose.

“What about the one Omar from Economics did for Jazmine?”

“What is romantic about jumping out of a massive cake?”

“Stacey Adams’s one for her girlfriend?”

“I heard that she’s been having an allergic reaction to those puppies all weekend and is in hospital now.”

“Okay, so you just hate love then.” Tess concluded, looking far from amused at the fact Kiara seemed to have an issue with every single proposal done so far.

“I don’t hate love,” Kiara sighed, rolling her eyes as they continued through the courtyard and back to the sorority house where she was hoping to have a quick nap before they were put on decorating duties again. “I’d just rather have something a little more subtle.”

“Has JJ asked you yet?”

“He doesn’t have to.” Kiara said with a shrug of her shoulders. “And even if he does, he’ll probably just ask me like a normal, sane person should do. I’m sure he wouldn’t be stupid enough to do something in front of everyone.”

“Well,” Tess winced slightly. “He did kiss you in front of everyone just to make you guys official.”

“Yeah but we spoke about that.” Kiara assured her. “He knows better than that.”

“I don’t—” But before Tess could continue her point, she was interrupted by loud screams and cheers coming from the middle of the quad. Kiara, rolling her eyes, already guessed what was going and turned to Tess with a ‘I told you so’ look on her face.

“God, I wonder what idiot is proposing now.” She muttered under her breath as Tess already began dragging her towards the massive crowd. As they grew closer, everyone began moving away from them, almost as though they were creating a clear path to the front. Kiara frowned in confusion, turning to ask Tess if she had any idea on what was going on, only to find her friend gone. When Kiara turned back to look at the crowd, she was instead met with the sight of JJ standing on a huge makeshift stage with the football team surrounding him. “Oh shit, it’s my idiot.”

Before she could even try and ask JJ what the fuck was going on, the sound of the marching band began to fill the courtyard. Kiara quickly glanced around and found them coming out of entrances she didn’t even know existed. She watched as they began to circle the courtyard before moving to stand in front of the stage. It took Kiara a few moments to actually process the song they were playing, her mind far too warped on trying to figure out what was happening.

_“L is for the way you look at me_

_O is for the only one I see_

_V is very, very extraordinary_

_E is even more than anyone that you adore can”_

Her eyes snapped over to the stage once again where she saw a large group of students standing and it took everything in Kiara not to roll her eyes. “Really? The Glee Club?” She muttered, watching as the mess continued to unfold.

With the marching band and the glee club singers, the student body were already swooning over the sight. As far as huge gestures went, this seemed to blast any of the ones they had seen in the last few years out of the park. And for it to come from JJ Maybank out of everyone? Well, considering JJ had never had a relationship or a very public girlfriend, it was bound to catch some attention. More and more students began to fill the courtyard, Kiara could’ve sworn she had even seen a few professors and other facility members coming out to see what was causing all the havoc.

Cameras were flashing and people were screaming, it was overwhelming and Kiara was pretty sure people weren’t even this loud at the football games. Everyone was loving this, everyone was swooning over JJ’s huge proposal, everyone wanted more.

Everyone but her.

Then, all of a sudden JJ was grabbing a hold of a microphone, a smug grin on his face as he looked out at the crowd.

_“Two in love can make it_

_Take my heart and please don’t break it_

_Love was made for me and you.”_

His voice echoed through the speakers, filling the courtyard and overpowering the sound of the marching band as they slowly came to a stop as the song ended. Everyone watched with beady eyes as JJ walked to the front of the stage, a huge grin on his face as he brought the microphone to his mouth.

“I have only one question for Kiara Carrera and Kiara Carrera only,” His voice a little breathless as his eyes glanced over the crowd, trying to spot her. Screams and cheers could be heard as one by one the football team ripped their shirts off to show the ‘VALENTINE?’ painted on their chests, letter by letter. “Will you, oh treasure of my heart, make an Englishman a happy lad and be my Valentine?”

The crowd fell silent as they awaited for an answer.

No answer came.

“C’mon, Kie, don’t leave me hanging here, love.” He called out to the crowd again, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as his eyes desperately tried to seek her out. “It’s funny, making me squirm a little but I would really like an answer now.”

Still no answer came.

He frowned, the hand holding the microphone dropping to his lap when his eyes suddenly spotted Tess in the crowd. Quickly jumping down from the stage, he made his way towards her, though she looked just as confused as him. Or maybe that was a look of pity, he wasn’t sure.

“Where is she?” He asked but Tess only shrugged in response. Murmurs and whispers began to break out amongst the crowd, though everyone had come to the same conclusion. Some people giving JJ pitying looks, others snickering a little at his public humiliation (and in most people’s eyes, public rejection). He could’ve sworn some teachers looked shocked as well. JJ Maybank wasn’t the type of person to get rejected. But JJ didn’t care, he didn’t care about any of them. His focus was on one thing and one thing only.

Kiara was gone.


	3. Just friends, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have barely edited this, it's really fucking late here but I felt bad at how long this chapter was taking me so enjoy! This chapter ended up being really long so I had to split it, but lucky you guys cause all the angst is gonna be in the next one! Also enjoy my unfortunate attempt at writing Jiara smut once again lol

“Kiara!”

“Kiara, open up!”

“I know you’re in there, stop pretending you can’t hear me!”

“Kie, please, I-I just wanna talk!”

JJ let out a defeated sigh when he was met with silence yet again. He turned around, leaning back against the door, eyebrows furrowed together as he contemplated his next plan of action (spoiler alert: screaming at the door and insistently knocking doesn’t bode very well with your fake girlfriend, who would’ve thought). JJ did. JJ thought, admittedly not one of his greatest plans.

After realising Kie had ran off during the proposal, JJ wasted no time in chasing after her. He checked the main building, even got Tess to check the bathrooms to see if she was hiding in there but she was nowhere to be seen. Once he got that confirmation, he knew exactly where she would’ve ran off to and he was somewhat glad that the afternoon lectures had began because it meant if he was right—which he was—then he wouldn’t have to worry about any of the other sorority girls poking their noses into business that doesn’t concern them.

It was how JJ found himself standing outside the sorority house, looking like a complete maniac as he called out to Kiara and repeatedly knocked on the door, hoping that she would get annoyed enough to open the door but she hadn’t. If he didn’t know her any better, he would’ve assumed that she wasn’t in the house. But that’s the thing, he did know her. He knew that the sorority house was also one of the places that JJ wouldn’t be able to get to her. Well, there was the stupid traditions that an Alpha Theta brother had to be invited into the Kappa Alpha Kappa sorority house by one of the members (a stupid rule, if you asked JJ, what was this, The Vampire Diaries?). Alas, everyone else abode to these stupid rules and the consequences they faced—which apparently was three years of bad luck—and though he wasn’t superstitious, he wasn’t willing to risk breaking down the door and storming inside in the middle of football season.

But he wasn’t giving up. Kiara was stubborn, he had seen it first-hand over and over again throughout the years they have known each other. But she also underestimated how determined and stubborn JJ could be himself.

The blond quickly pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts before he found the person he was looking for.

**That One Brit:** _which room is Kiara’s?_

**Rainbow-Head:** _what?_

**That One Brit:** _which window is Kiara’s?_

**Rainbow-Head:** _well that isn’t creepy at all_

**That One Brit:** _Tess, I don’t have time for your pathetic attempts of screen sarcasm_

**Rainbow-Head:** _alright calm down, Edward Cullen, don’t get your knickers in a twist_

**That One Brit:** _oh please, I’m way better looking than that over-gelled freak_

**Rainbow-Head:** _you’ve seen twilight?! Team Edward or Team Jacob?_

**That One Brit:** _can you please tell me which one is hers before I smash every single window_

**Rainbow-Head:** _cranky ass…it’s the third on the left side, second floor_

**That One Brit:** _thank you_

**Rainbow-Head:** _you’re welcome_

**That One Brit:** _btw team Jacob is the only right answer_

**Rainbow-Head:** _IN WHAT FUCKING WORLD?!_

JJ grinned, quickly switching his phone off and slipping it back into his pocket as he ignored the multitude of messages coming through from Tess. He would deal with that whole conversation later. His priority right now was Kiara. He wasted little time as he made his way around the side of the house, counting along the windows until he was under the one that Tess had claimed was Kiara’s (or at least, he was hoping it was and Tess wouldn’t make him scale the side of a house to find out he’s wrong).

“The things I do.” He muttered to himself as he glanced around, seeing the gutter pipes running up the side of the house and the small out-jutted bricks were his only solution to climbing this wall. He closed his eyes, contemplating taking the 80s rom-com route and just getting a boombox, but she would probably just ignore that too. With another sigh, JJ gripped the pipe and began his venture up the side of the house. He desperately hoped no one was around to capture it on video, he doubted it would look good on him to be found clambering up some random sorority house like your local neighbourhood creep.

Once he reached the window sill, his boots using the small ledge as a foothold and his hands gripping the pipe in one hand and the other on the head jamb of the window, clutching onto his dear life and hoping that he wouldn’t fall to the ground. Then he could kiss his football scholarship goodbye.

The curtains were drawn open and JJ was glad to see he was given the right room. He couldn’t see Kiara, not fully. She was sitting at her desk, back turned to him which caused him to frown a little. He risked letting go of the window (his hand still desperately clutching onto the gutter pipe) and knocked three times on the window. Kiara’s head snapped over to look at him, her eyes widening when she saw the blond balancing on her window sill.

“I’d appreciate if you let me in before I fall to my death, love.” JJ called out, taking a quick glance down only to regret it instantly. He looked back at Kiara, his voice more urgent. “Like, any time now, Kie.”

In no time she had opened the window, JJ wasting no time in rolling (ungracefully) into the room, a small ‘oomph’ as he made contact with the carpeted floor. He cleared his throat as he stood up, rolling his shoulders as he clung onto whatever remained of his dignity after than entrance.

For a second, JJ forget why he was there, his feet frozen on the ground as he glanced around her room. It was so…Kie. The posters plastered on the walls, mixed with photos of her and her friends. Concert tickets and badges and pins. There were books—a mix of academic ones and general fiction—around the room. He noticed the large variety of pens and stationary on her desk and he couldn’t help but smile a little. He had witnessed first-hand how much Kie loved highlighting during their wee study sessions.

It was only when he heard her shuffling behind him that he remembered why he was here and quickly turned to her, only for his face to fall when he took in her appearance. Her eyes were red and glossy, sleeves of her hoodie pulled over her hands and she looked generally quite unimpressed by his presence.

“Have you been crying?” His voice uncharacteristically soft as he took a small, instinctive step towards her.

“What? No, it was…just allergies.” She said with a forced smile which only caused JJ to frown further. She didn’t honestly think he was going to buy that, did she? “I’m okay, JJ, it’s fine.”

The guilt that had been building up inside him since he first noticed Kiara had run away was only growing, an uncomfortable tug in his gut telling him that he was partially the cause of those teary eyes. He didn’t like. He didn’t like the feeling and he didn’t like seeing her upset, he didn’t like being the cause behind it.

“Kiara, it was just meant to be a fun joke. I didn’t…I should’ve spoken to you about it beforehand.” He murmured, his eyes scanning over her face, trying to grasp onto how pissed she was. But she didn’t look awfully angry at him, and maybe that scared him a little more. “I didn’t think you would…umm…” He trailed off, not sure if she even wanted him to acknowledge the tears anymore.

“This…” She paused, running a hand over her face as she took a few steps back. She took a seat on the edge of her bed, hands clasped on her lap as she lightly picked at the skin around her nails. He watched her for a few moments before taking a hesitant seat next to her. When she didn’t kick him off the bed, he took that as a good enough sign that she wasn’t _too_ pissed at him.

“It’s okay, Kie.” He murmured and gave her a soft smile when she turned to look at him. She returned the smile as best as she could, though it looked a little pained.

“I’ve never really been the best at being in the spotlight,” She finally spoke up, returning her gaze back to her hands because it was easier than keeping eye contact with him. “It just…it doesn’t feel right, I guess.”

“But I thought…” JJ frowned a little, eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at her side profile for a few moments. “I thought you’d want the whole grand gesture, to be honest. Make it believable to everyone else.”

She gently shook her head, a soft action but he noticed it. “I couldn’t think of anything worse.”

“I kinda assumed with your…upbringing that you would be used to it.” He admitted sheepishly.

“Just because I’m used to it, doesn’t mean I like it.” She said with a small shrug of her shoulders. JJ didn’t say anything, her response didn’t feel like it needed an answer. She wanted to get something off her chest, and JJ would happily listen. So he waited, until she was ready to speak.

“Growing up the way I did was like…having a camera in your face no matter what.” Her gaze was directed on the wall opposite them that was full of photos Kiara had printed out. JJ glanced over at the wall, eyes scanning the photos. He noticed none of them were from her time before college. “Every shit day, every embarrassing moment, someone was there to record it. My parents would go on and on about how I would get used to it. I mean, by the age of thirteen you pretty much knew how to manipulate the media.” She added with a laugh. But it felt heavy and pained, as though it could cover up the fact it was completely messed up. “It was shit…I hated it, every single moment of it but I still went through with it…for my parents, for their sake and no one else’s. Even on the days when I wanted nothing more than to just crawl under my bed and hide there forever. Still went out and gave the paparazzi the pictures they wanted.”

In the time they had known each other, JJ thought of Kie as nothing but a spoilt brat. He was made aware of her upbringing pretty quickly after their first few encounters and it honestly fuelled the distaste he had towards her. She was everything JJ wasn’t, everything he despised. Rich brat who got anything she wanted with a bat of her eyelashes, more money in a trust fund than half of the people of this college would even earn in a year. The fact she was snarky and rude back to him just seemed to further his assumption that Kiara was like the rest of the spoiled brats he knew back home, maybe even worse. JJ had assumed Kiara was this privileged, entitled teen who was only at college to make her reputation look good. He had assumed so many things about her.

Yet as the weeks went by and the longer they spent together, one by one those assumptions he made seemed to be knocked down. There was so much more to Kiara Carrera than he had first thought. With her upbringing, he was so focused on the money and the fancy things she had that he didn’t even think about the other parts of that lifestyle. That her whole life would be seen as entertainment, that every single embarrassing moment would be on the internet somewhere. He could think of a handful of moments his mother had captured on camera that mortified him, and that was just to stay in the family. He couldn’t imagine the whole world having access to them.

So, when he turned back to look at Kiara, he couldn’t help but look at her in a new light. A new sense of awe even. The façade she put up, this mask of seeming strong and unbothered when in reality it was her worst nightmare. She had tricked so many people into thinking she was okay, hadn’t let them see just how much she hated it for the sake of her family and their image. It was admirable, if he was being honest. It was also heart-breaking that it was something she had to do, that she had little choice in.

“I couldn’t even imagine…” He murmured, lips pressed together in a frown. He watched her closely, noticing the somewhat distant look on her face. He could only imagine what was going on in her head, what she was thinking about. Possibly even reliving his horrible proposal and…god, he couldn’t even imagine how horrible that must’ve been for her. “I mean, if anyone saw my bleached hair shamble when I was thirteen, I think I would die.”

And when she laughed, his shoulders visibly deflated. A small smile grew on his lips, glad that the mood was a little lighter, that she wasn’t upset anymore. He was glad that she wasn’t pissed at him and demanding he leave the room. He didn’t like it when she was upset with him, a thought that would’ve made JJ a few months ago cackle.

“You bleached your hair?” She asked, turning to finally look at him. Though her eyes were still a bit glassy, her smile was brighter, she seemed lighter as though a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

“It was a dark time,” He said with a small chuckle, shaking his head slightly. “I was trying to impress this girl who had a crush on Draco Malfoy. It did not go to plan, I looked like Chicken Little, especially with the glasses and horrible mohawk.”

“You used to wear glasses?” She asked, surprised by this revelation.

“Still do,” He corrected. “Sometimes, I should probably wear them more actually.”

“Huh,” She murmured, tilting her head to the side as though she could imagine the picture of thirteen year old JJ that he had painted out for her. “That is something I need to see in my life.”

“Over my dead body!” He scoffed, playfully giving her shoulder a nudge. She grinned and nudged him back.

“That can be arranged, Jay, don’t underestimate me.” She said, eyes narrowed slightly but the laugh that followed eased away the menacing look she had been giving him. The silence followed and JJ found his thoughts drifting once again as he watched her closely, the words spilling out of him before he had a chance to stop and think about the mood he was about to ruin.

“I am really sorry about the proposal thing, Kie,” He murmured, her smile dropping a little as she turned to look at him properly. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or…it was stupid and I should’ve warned you first.”

She gave him a soft smile, one that seemed a little forced in his opinion. “It’s okay, JJ. You didn’t know and you were just trying to make it believable for the bet, for Scarlett. I get it—”

“No, Kie. It was stupid. Fuck the bet for one bloody second,” He quickly interrupted and she looked at him with her lips parted in shock, mostly at the sincerity in his words. “It was a dick move and…I…I would like to think we are at least friends now,” He said and took in a quick inhale before continuing. “Friends don’t make each other feel like shit.”

She didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Friends?”

He swore he could feel his heart beating a million miles a minute. “Do you want to be friends?”

“Yeah,” She whispered with a small smile. “Yeah, I do.”

His shoulders deflated a little. Maybe of relief that she agreed, that he hadn’t made a fool of himself and that maybe this was a stage between them they could continue after this bet. Or maybe it was from disappointment. Maybe because a part of him didn’t want her to agree to being his friend, maybe something more—

“In that case,” JJ quickly cleared his throat before he slid off the bed, knee planted on the floor as he looked up at her with his usual charming grin. “Would you, Kiara Carrera, do this hopeless fool a favour and please forgive him for the mistakes he made and agree to be my Valentine?” He asked, one hand outstretched to her and the other placed over his heart—just for that extra cheesiness to the situation.

Kie supressed her giggles, shaking her head at his theatrics but the grin on her face was hard to miss. The sight of it just made JJ’s grow wider. “Hm, I don’t know…you _are_ a hopeless fool…” She trailed off with a sigh.

“Don’t reject me again, love,” JJ muttered with a pout. “My ego can only take so much.”

“Good,” She countered, rolling her eyes at the dramatic gasp he gave. “Alright, alright…I guess I can fit you into my schedule.”

“And they say romance is dead.” He huffed out a laugh, his hand still extended out for her to take. Assuming he wanted help to get up, she took it and tugged him forward. JJ, however, seemed to have other plans and pulled her towards him. Moments later, the two of them found themselves sprawled on the floor snickering. “Falling for me, love?”

“In your dreams, Maybank.” She grinned in response.

“Ooh depends,” He murmured, turning his head to look at her from where she laid only a couple of inches away from him. “What kind of dreams are they?”

“And you say _I_ am the less romantic one!” She scoffed, giving him a little shove.

But in all honesty, JJ was just glad to see her smile again.

“I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!”

She heard Sarah let out a small wince as Scarlet’s screeching voice echoed through the hall. It was the day before the Valentine’s Day Bash, and if they thought she was bad before…well she just got ten times worse. It seems like despite bossing people around for the last fortnight, making more feather garlands and paper lanterns than one could ever imagine, they were still nowhere near finished with the workload. Now less than twenty-four hours from the event, and Kiara could’ve sworn she could see the steam coming out of her ears. In the nicest way one could say, Scarlet was losing the plot.

“Should’ve invested in some fucking earplugs.” The blonde scoffed, most likely regretting her decision to sneak into the hall yet again to hang around with her boyfriend and her friends. Kiara couldn’t even blame her, Scarlet had been a monster all week but just when she thought they hit rock bottom, Scarlet found a way to keep digging into that inner Godzilla she has.

“WE ARE EIGHTEEN HOURS, FORTY-TWO MINUTES AND THIRTY-THREE SECONDS FROM THE DANCE AND YOU ARE TELLING ME WE DON’T HAVE A DISCO BALL?”

The poor boy she was yelling at seemed to cower back slightly, gulping as he tried to find the will to speak. “Y-You said they were tacky so—”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT I SAID, I WANT A BALL SO YOU WILL GET ME A BALL!” She screamed, and though Kiara felt bad for the young frat pledge, she couldn’t help but snicker at the word choice. It seemed Sarah and the others thought the same thing as they tried to maintain their laughs. But the redhead had already heard them.

“And _what_ do you four think is so funny?” Scarlet snapped at the group, John B and Pope looking anywhere but at her and Sarah doing her very best to hide her face behind her hair so Scarlet wouldn’t notice she was not a member of the sorority. Which left Scarlet staring straight at Kiara, who maybe any other day would’ve done what she could to just get Scarlet out of her sight as quickly as she could, but something burned inside her today. Something that made her want to fight back, to push her buttons a little bit more.

“Maybe if you got your head out of your ass and chilled out for a second, you would be laughing with us.” Kiara said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. She was pretty sure Scarlet was turning as red as her hair now.

“Look, _Carrera_ , I do not have time for you or your little unhelpful snide remarks, so if you aren’t going to do anything, I will—” But she quickly interjected the redhead.

“You’ll do what?” She challenged, one eyebrow cocked in interest. But before she could reply, the sound of the heavy doors being thrown open echoed through the hall and Scarlet’s anger was directed elsewhere as she turned to scold the latecomer.

“I SWEAR ON BEYONCE HERSELF, YOU BETTER—” But the words quickly died down and were instead replaced with a charming smile when Scarlet noticed it was a certain Brit that had walked through those doors, not some frat pledge or younger sorority sister. “JJ, hey there. Took your time, didn’t you?” Kie suppressed her smile when she saw Sarah roll her eyes and mockingly gag.

“I like to keep people on their toes.” He said simply with a shrug, barely giving the redhead a second glance as he made his way over to where the group were sitting and slipped into the seat next to Kiara. He then turned to her with a smile, extending out one of the two coffee cups he brought in with him. “Here. A vanilla latte with almond milk.”

Kiara raised her eyebrows, grateful but confused as she took the cup from his hands. “Thanks…”

“That’s what you like, right?” He asked and for a moment his expression dropped to one of disappointment. He had clearly mistaken her confusion for distaste.

“Yeah,” She murmured, her eyes unable to tear away from his face when he grinned at her. She was almost expecting him to shed his skin and reveal he was an alien. Maybe even a robot. She did have her suspicions when she first met him that he was extra-terrestrial. “How did you know?”

JJ gave her a knowing look, an awfully smug one at that. “Lucky guess, love.” And with that he threw his arm over the back of her chair and turned to face the front, where a very pissed off Scarlet was standing.

Kiara didn’t get a chance to interrogate JJ further on the coffee before Scarlet began hackling on about the dance preparations again, allocating each group a new task with the underlying threat that if they didn’t complete it soon then she would end them all. Good ol’ fun dance preparation right? Kiara and the others had been given the exhilarating job of creating the massive balloon arch that is the ‘centrepiece of the whole dance’ apparently. But Kiara was pretty sure Scarlet just wanted to see someone pass out from blowing up too many balloons like the sadistic bitch she is.

“This should be considered child labour.” John B huffed out as he tried to tie a pretty finnicky balloon that he had been having issues with for the last five minutes.

“You aren’t a child, JB.” Pope deadpanned and the brunette only pouted in response.

“Mentally I am.”

“Fair enough.”

Kiara contained her own snickers as she smacked another balloon towards their finished pile and grabbed another one. The blond beside her let out a low whine, sluggishly leaning on her shoulder as he batted away a balloon. “This is bloody shit.”

“As opposed to it being oh-so fun?” She countered with raised eyebrows.

“Don’t sass me, love.” He murmured, manoeuvring in his seat so that his head now laid on her lap, a content sigh escaping his lips as his hands rested on his stomach.

“Comfortable?”

“Very.” He answered with a small nod of his head, eyes closed as he simply rested on her lap. Kiara only rolled her eyes in response before she reached for another balloon. It seemed this was the wrong move though, considering the blond began to whine for her attention, pulling on the hem of her shirt and trying to batter the balloon away while she was blowing it up. He was acting like a child.

“You’re annoying, you know that, right?” She huffed, looking down at the Brit who simply gave her an innocent grin.

“I am simply demanding my girlfriend acknowledge my existence, is that a crime?” JJ replied, his hand reaching to grab hers before she had the chance to grab another balloon from the table.

“Your girlfriend is busy.” Kiara retorted and JJ pouted in response.

“Tragic,” He murmured before he quickly sat up, hand still in hers as he pulled her out of her chair. “Can’t have that, I’m a demanding man.”

“You’re Tinkerbell.” She deadpanned, attempting to pull her hand away but JJ just dragged her further away from the table they were working at.

“I would look great in that dress, mind you.” He grinned, reaching for his phone in his pocket. “What are you feeling? Maybe some _ABBA_ or _Scouting_ _For_ _Girls_ or…hmm…” He muttered away to himself as he scrolled through. Kiara raised an eyebrow but the blond seemed too lost in whatever he was doing. She opened her mouth, ready to warn him that if Scarlet saw they were slacking she would have their heads but she didn’t get the chance when suddenly music began blasting through the Bluetooth speakers set up around the hall.

JJ turned to Kiara with a smug grin on his face, slipping his phone back into his pocket before he grabbed her other hand. “Let loose, Carrera, c’mon!” He called out as he dragged her further into the middle of the hall, pulling her hands back and forth in an attempt to get her to dance with him.

“You’re delusional.” She called out to him over a laugh, trying to focus on him rather than the odd looks they were receiving from everyone in the hall. Some people ever began joining in. JJ only grinned, pulling her closer as he began to sing along with the song playing.

_“She had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies_

_Knocking me out with those American thighs_

_Taking more than her share, had me fighting for air_

_She told me to come, but I was already there”_

Kiara could barely contain her laughs as JJ continued to sing away, being the drama king he is, seemed to make quite the theatrics of serenading her. A part of Kiara wanted to cringe away or slap him to make him stop, but the other part was laughing and smiling so much that she couldn’t seem to care. But their moment of bliss didn’t last very long.

“Excuse _you_ , but this is a serious matter! The two of you can’t keep messing about—don’t worry, JJ, I completely understand what a convincing wretch Kiara can be—but I won’t let the two of your mess this up!” Scarlet huffed, having stomped over from whichever station she was at before. Neither of the couple seemed very alarmed, JJ’s arm around Kie’s shoulder, both of them panting lightly from all the dancing and spinning and laughing.

“Calm down, Scar, it’s just a little fun.” JJ replied with a casual shrug, giving the redhead his usual charming smile. And maybe it would’ve worked if Kiara wasn’t at his side and a reminder to Scarlet that Kie had what she wanted.

“This isn’t the time for fun.” She replied promptly, chin held high.

“That seems like a personal issue because I was having definitely having some fun back there,” Kiara spoke up, watching as the redhead’s eyes snapped over to her with a glare. “You should try it some time, _Scar_ , wind down a little…get that stick out of your ass.”

Scarlet’s cheeks were flaming red, her eyes narrowed into a harsh glare.

“And this is where we depart!” JJ muttered as he quickly pulled Kiara along with him as they headed back to the table where the others were working. “Someone is feeling snappy today.” He muttered to her, lips brushing her ear and Kiara tried not to shiver at his warm breath tickling her skin.

“She deserves it.” Kiara whispered back with an innocent shrug but JJ only grinned in response. “She has been yapping on non-stop about her dance outfit all week. I swear I am one comment away from just banging my head against a wall…or maybe banging her head against a wall.”

“Have I ever told you how hot you look when you’re aggressive?” JJ commented with a small smirk, but Kiara just rolled her eyes. “So…do I get any hints on what _you’re_ wearing tomorrow?” He asked, eyebrows raised slightly.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She mused with a grin.

“Not even a wee teaser? Give a man something, love.”

“Hm, but then your reaction wouldn’t be genuine.” She countered, laughing at the look of defeat on his face. “Nice try though.” She added, patting his cheek.

“Whatever,” He murmured, huffing like a young child. “My outfit is gonna be better than yours anyway.”

“I’m sure it will, Jay.”

“You’ll be blown away, love.”

“Oh definitely.”

“Won’t even know what hit you!”

“You’re gonna be shirtless, aren’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

“This is better than anything I could’ve imagined.”

“C’mon, Rafe, your wings are drooping, mate!”

“I think he is getting a wedgie from the diaper.”

“OH FUCK OFF!”

JJ brought the cup to his mouth, though the smirk on his lips was clear, just as the fact John B and Pope were also laughing at the sight on front of them despite the former having graciously slapped a hand over his mouth. It was tradition in the Alpha Theta fraternity that for as long as the Valentine’s Day Bash has been a thing, so too has the annual Valentine’s Strip Dip. It was a stupid wee challenge done by the fraternity every year.

The challenge entailed in the fraternity venturing out to the beach on a crisp February morning, stripping down to their birthday suits and running into the ocean. The goal is to stay in for as long as you can. First one out loses and the last one out chooses their dance outfit. This year the loser just so happened to be Rafe—who claimed he had been stung by a jellyfish—and that meant he had to pay the price. Unfortunately for him, JJ was the one who lasted the longest in the water. And almost dying of hypothermia made up for the sight of seeing Rafe walk around in an adult diaper, fairy wings and a toy bow and arrow in hand—the dance’s very own Cupid.

“You look great, mate, the glitter in the wings really make your eyes pop.” JJ commented, not even bothering to hide his snickers anymore. Rafe had attempted to glare in response but the sight wasn’t intimidating in the least.

“Shut the fuck up.” Rafe muttered, arms crossed in annoyance but that only made the three of them laugh harder.

“Frat rules, bro. You gotta keep it on until midnight.” Pope said with a sheepish look, though he definitely did not feel bad. None of them did, it was far too fucking hilarious and they would be getting as much blackmail content as they could over the next few hours.

“This is stupid.” Rafe hissed under his breath before he wandered back into the crowd, leaving the three boys cackling as he did so. It was definitely worth the risk of almost freezing his balls off.

“I have a feeling tonight will be a good night.” JJ mused, looking at his friends in amusement.

“What are the chances we can convince drunk Rafe to run through the main quad?” John B commented jokingly, a snort leaving his lips before he could even finish his statement.

“Probably very high,” Another voice spoke up, arms wrapping around John B’s waist before Sarah popped up from behind him. “My brother is a sloppy drunk.”

“It’s hard to believe he’s your brother at all.” Pope muttered, the blond nodding in agreement as he watched John B press a quick kiss onto Sarah’s lips in greeting. His eyebrows furrowed a little, glancing down at his watch. The Bash had started around an hour ago—if the massive number of students wandering around the tackily decorated frat house was any consolation—but he had yet to see Kiara. For someone who harasses him on his time management, she is sure looking like a hypocrite right now.

“Aw, missing your girlfriend?” Sarah sang, a teasing grin on her lips as she watched JJ’s head quickly snap up.

“She hasn’t messaged me in a couple of hours.” He replied with a small shrug, taking a particularly long sip of the cheap beer in his cup.

“And you say I’m bad.” John B scoffed.

“No, you are still definitely worse.” Pope piped up and JJ let out a small cheer, happily clapping his friend’s shoulder.

“I rest my case.” JJ grinned, the couple rolling their eyes in response. Though he could’ve sworn he heard Sarah whisper ‘whipped’ under his breath. Yet, before he had the chance to even send a snarky retort back, he felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly turned around, practically buzzing in anticipation.

“Scarlet,” He breathed out, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Hi.” He gave the redhead a friendly smile, trying to push down the fact he was disappointed at her appearance. He was pretty sure his friends picked up on this and were snickering at his dismay. JJ didn’t find it as funny. After all the teasing remarks she made, ideas of Kiara’s outfit had been running through his head non-stop for the last twenty-four hours.

“Enjoying the party?” She asked, head tilted to the side and JJ was not oblivious to the sultry look she was giving him. He didn’t understand the wave of discomfort that washed over him. JJ was used to flirting, with Scarlet especially. But something about the hand on her arm and the lingering glances on his bare chest just seemed…wrong. “The decorations really paid off in the end, don’t ya think?”

“Uh yeah, it did. Well done.” He answered, lightly shrugging off her hand as he scratched the nape of his neck. Scarlet didn’t seem bothered by the act, her eyes scanning the group behind him before she caught his gaze once again.

“Where’s your little girlfriend?” She asked, a look of faux concern on her face.

“Maybe I should be asking you that since you live in the same house as her,” He mused and held the easy expression on his face when she laughed a little too hard at his comment. “Uh, I’m not sure though. She’s probably on her way over now so…” He trailed off, not quite sure how he could leave this conversation without seeming like a complete ass. Then again, he was never one to bother too much with formalities.

“Well if she doesn’t show up,” Scarlet spoke up, taking a step closer to JJ with her hand on his shoulder this time. She leaned up, her lips now brushing against his ear. “You know where to find me.”

He gave her an awkward laugh. “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.”

“Good,” She grinned up at him, thankfully taking a step back now. “You know, JJ, I don’t know what happened. We had such a fun thing going on between us before Kiara. I miss it, don’t you?” She asked with her lips jutted out in a small pout.

JJ gulped a little, opening his mouth to hopefully spout some believable bullshit but the words died down when his eyes caught the sight over Scarlet’s shoulder, at the entrance of the frat house. “Holy shit.” He breathed out, eyes wide in awe.

JJ had seen Kiara dressed up before, countless times over the last few weeks especially. With all the dinner parties and galas they had been attending together, he has seen her in the most jaw-dropping dresses, fully glammed up and looking like a goddess. She looked beautiful, there was no doubt about it. But every time JJ saw her, he couldn’t help but think there was something missing amongst the fancy attires. But this…

This was a different type of beauty.

His eyes glanced over her appearance and he wasn’t even sure what to focus on. The black leather flared trousers that stopped just under her bellybutton, little sections cut-out at her hips and making the peek of skin feel oddly scandalous. A white cropped vest that just stood out against her skin and complimented the oversized red blazer she had paired with the outfit. But there was so much more to her than the outfit—though he was respectfully admiring that too—but everything about her appearance was just so… _Kie_. The way her hair was curled to her makeup to the jewellery she wore. It was different to all the times she was forced to dress up by her parents. Maybe it was the smile on her face, that missing piece that he had sought for all those other times, the thing that made this particular outfit just…perfect.

“You’re catching flies.” Sarah snickered but he barely paid attention to her as Kie’s eyes caught his and her smile widened. He let out a breath as she approached him, a knowing grin on her face as she stopped just in front of him.

“Surprise, surprise…JJ Maybank is shirtless at a party.” She mused but when he didn’t reply with his own sassy comment, she furrowed her eyebrows in concern. “Jay, you good?”

“You look…” He trailed off, swallowing the words that were desperately trying to leave his mouth. His hands instinctively moved to her hips, fingers brushing her skin and she seemed to take a small step closer to him. “…wow.”

“I look wow?” She raised her brows in amusement.

He didn’t seem to pick up on it though, nodding his head quickly. “Beyond wow, love. You look fucking gorgeous.”

He could’ve sworn her cheeks flush slightly as she ducked her head down, laughing a little before she left her eyes glance over his appearance, a fairly casual outfit but as promised, he was shirtless (he did have a shirt but he lost it within the first thirty minutes of the party).

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She commented and her grin mirrored his own. Their wee moment was soon ruined when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention. The couple turned to Scarlet, though his arm remained promptly around Kie’s waist.

“Kiara, I’m _so_ glad you made it,” Scarlet smiled, her jaw slightly clenched as though it physically pained her to say the words. “We missed you.”

“Yeah, it’s a weird story. Tess’s car wouldn’t start up,” Kiara replied, head tilted slightly to the side. “But it worked perfectly fine this morning.”

“How odd.” Scarlet said with a small shrug before she turned to JJ, a knowing smirk on her face. “My offer still stands.” And with that, she disappeared into the crowd.

Kiara raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything as they watched Scarlet leave. She then turned to JJ. “I gotta grab a drink, I’ll be right back.”

But before she could step back, his grip on her waist tightened. “I’ll come with!” He blurted out suddenly and she gave him a weird look.

“Uh…okay.” Her gaze lingered on him for a few moments and he gave her a smile. He didn’t know what came over him but he didn’t feel like leaving her side just yet. He tried to rationalise with himself, saying repeatedly in his mind that they were friends now and he just wanted to hang around with his friend—just as he did with John B or Pope or Sarah. That’s all there was to it.

But deep down—in the depths of his mind that he would never let see the light of day—he knew a part of him wanted to stick by her side to remind people that he was with Kiara. Some deep, primal territorial part of him wanted everyone at this party that he was the one with his arm around her. He would never voice these thoughts to her—he would fear the well-being of his balls if she heard him be so brash—but they lingered in the back of his mind.

If Kiara had noticed his behaviour all night, she hadn’t noticed. Maybe because she was having similar thoughts herself. She wanted him by her side, whilst they drank and laughed with their friends and thrashed other couples at beer pong, she enjoyed having him by her side. It was weird, it felt different. They had been playing the part of a couple for over a fortnight now. And yes, at certain points, it was easier than others but it never felt this…natural. It just flowed, it just felt so real.

Somewhere amongst the drinking and fun, JJ had managed to drag Kiara into the middle of the crowd. Music blasting around them, alcohol coursing through their veins, neither one of them fighting that desire to be at each other’s side. Kiara had abandoned her jacket somewhere (a problem she would face in the morning) and was happily giggling as JJ span her around, the sound of ABBA surrounding them as the crowd happily sang along.

Suddenly, he was pulling her back in and she was happy to see that his smile was just as wide as hers. Hand in hand, they continued to dance and swing and twirl, drunkenly singing along to the songs that played through the speakers. In that moment, JJ couldn’t even begin to think why it hadn’t always been like this. They spent so long arguing and bickering and fighting, he couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship could’ve always been like this if they gave it a chance.

Seeing her smile instead of scowl at him.

Hear her laughing with him rather than at him.

Being at his side through all these parties and events, just enjoying themselves.

They could have this. This could be a reality. They could be a reality.

And as he pulled her back, her back now against his chest and their faces inches away from each other, it really hit JJ that he wanted this to be reality. He wanted to dance and laugh and sing with Kiara, not just today but every day after this. And while he stood there, chest heaving slightly, he couldn’t help but feel as though she had come to the same realisation as something sparked in her eyes.

JJ could hear the song changing, hear people laughing and cheering, he was aware that they were all around him and yet he couldn’t bring himself to care in that moment as he held Kiara in his arms. The rest of the party muffled out, blue eyes staring into brown and they stared back, neither one of them making a move as the thoughts swirled between them.

He watched her eyes dart down, watched them linger on his lips before they snapped back to his eyes and JJ could’ve sworn his heart stopped for a second. Had he imagined it? Was the cheap beer getting to his head? But then he saw her swallow a little, her eyes glancing down once again and that was the confirmation JJ needed.

“Jay…” She breathed out and before she could blink, JJ was leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. He felt her body sag against him in relief, one hand reaching up to thread through his hair and push his head towards her. JJ’s hands gripped her hips, holding her close to him.

They pulled away, both in desperate need for a breath, and JJ’s eyes fluttered open to look at the female in front of him. Despite the shit lighting, he swore her cheeks were flushed red, swore he could’ve felt them heat up. Her lips parted slightly as she looked up at him with wide eyes, the hunger flashing within them also flashed in his own and he wasted no time before he leaned back down again.

The first kiss seemed hesitant, like they were toeing the line a bit. In the back of his mind, the memory of the rules they made at the start of this agreement flashed like a blaring siren. This was against the rules, kissing was not a part of their dynamic. And yet when he pulled back, JJ craved more. He wanted to taste her again and by the look on her face, she too felt the same. And this kiss…

This kiss seemed to put all the lingering thoughts and doubts in silence. It was fast and desperate and passionate. The whole night they had spent by each other’s side, wanting to feel closer, wanting to fulfil that desire deep within them. All of that was pushed into this kiss, with his arms wrapped around her stomach and desperate to pull her closer to him, with her hands tangled in his hair and tugging on it until he groaned against her lips. The kiss put all the words to shame. They needed this, possibly even before this party. Maybe this was something that had been growing and dwindling between them long before they even realised it.

Though every fibre in his body wanted nothing more than to continue, JJ pulled back slightly. His forehead pressed against hers, still so close that they were breathing in the same air, so close because they had—no, needed to be touching somehow. Neither one of them seemed bothered by the lingering gazes of the party-goers, or even their friends on the other side of the room that looked on shocked at the sudden PDA. None of it mattered, nothing mattered other than each other.

“Kie…” He whispered against her lips, his eyes focused on trying to catch every small detail about her that he could. He didn’t even care that his voice was low and needy, because she was the exact same.

“Is upstairs free?” She asked him, nibbling on her lower lip and he tried not to groan, tried not to lean forward and nip her lip himself.

“Yeah,” He murmured in reply, his mind foggy with so many thoughts that it took him a second to process her question. “Yeah, it should be.

“Perfect.” She muttered and just when he thought she was going to kiss him again, she slipped out of his embrace, not giving him any clue onto what she was thinking as she grabbed his hand and began making a beeline for the stairs.

His thoughts were jumbled and fuzzy as he followed Kiara up the stairs, his mind warped on just wanting to feel her lips against her again. She needed little time to find his room (she knew where it was from their wee study sessions) before she was dragging him inside, muttering him to lock the door before she grabbed his face and pulled him back down to her. But he pushed her back a little.

“You sure about this?” He asked, eyes catching his.

“One hundred percent.” She muttered and JJ grinned as he leaned down again.

A groan of satisfaction hummed against her lips, his hands lingering on his waist before they travelled lower, cupping her ass and pulling her closer to him. She felt him smirk against his lips and he returned the gesture, their lips moving feverishly against each other. He felt her hands drop to his shoulders, and then start to move lower and JJ had to remember to take a second to breathe. He watched her beneath hooded lids as she raked her nails against his abs, her nails grazing lower until the palm of her hand pressed against the bulge in his jeans.

“Fuck, love.” He groaned out, all self-control and restraint flying out the window as he hiked his hands under her thighs and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist on instinct. Seconds barely passed before he had her pressed up against the door, her head thrown back whilst his lips trailed over the exposed skin of her neck.

His hands gripped her thighs as he kissed and nipped and licked the skin on her neck, his lips brushing over a certain spot in the crook between her neck and collarbone that had her arching into his embrace. A smug smirk painted on his lips, a brief _“found you”_ whispered against her skin.

Kiara could barely handle it. Her legs squeezing around his body, wanting him closer, wanting his hands to wander beyond the light teasing touches up and down her thigh. He was being a smug little shit, seeming to know the perfect places to have her a whining mess, head feeling muddled and fuzzy but one thought was loud and clear—she wanted more, she needed him to do something more.

“JJ,” She whined lightly, her nails digging into his shoulders before she lost her restraint, using his hair to tug his head back and her lips passionately meeting his. “Fucking do something.” She muttered against his lips, the words seeming like a demand for the blonde as his hands travelled further up her body, cupping her breasts through the material before his fingers trailed down to the hem of her shirt.

“Lift your arms for me, love.” He murmured as she had little time to contemplate his words before he was tugging her shirt off and throwing it somewhere behind him. He leaned back a little, lip trapped between his teeth as he took in the sight of her. She was half tempted to open her mouth and snap at him again. Yet, her demands for him to touch her were unneeded as he leaned forwards, kissing along her newly exposed skin, his hands following suit to explore her body.

“Oh shit.” Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt his thumb lightly circle her nipple, barely a touch before his head ducked down to take the nub in his mouth, teeth lightly grazing and tongue swirling. The noise from the back of her throat only seemed to egg him on further, his hips slowly rutting against her as he took her moans and nails digging into his skin as signs of praise. And when he leaned back again, she was seconds away from begging before his attention turned to her other nipple.

Tongue still preoccupied, Kiara let out a squeak of surprise when he gripped her ass and began moving away from the door. She felt him squeeze her ass, lips pressing a few kisses in the valley between her breasts before he dropped her down on his bed.

Kiara looked up at him from her spot on the bed, leaning back on her hands as she took in his appearance. His dishevelled hair, his swollen red lips, his chest heaving, his cock straining in his jeans, his eyes dark from lust—no longer the blue she had grown familiar and used to but black, pupils blown with desire. A true sight that had her trying to hide the smug grin on her face, feeling something quite like pride burnt inside her to know that she made him like this, she had this effect on him.

She pushed herself to sit up, her hands reaching for his jeans as her fingers nimbly undoing the buttons, not once had her eyes left his. He gulped a little, one eyebrow cocked in amusement as he watched her tug his jeans down his thighs, barely half way down, before her attention returned to his confined cock. She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, noticing how he watched her so eagerly. She placed a chaste kiss on the skin above his boxers, listening to the deep intake of breath he took. Then she placed another kiss, and another. Her finger curled around the waistband of his boxers and tugged them down a little before she began to press a few kisses against the exposed skin. Each kiss moving lower and lower as she slowly pulled his boxers down. She noticed his fists clenched at his side, but she wanted to see how long it took before he snapped.

“Kiara,” He groaned, his voice strained and his breathing laboured. Inch by inch, she pulled his boxers down before his cock was exposed to her. She looked up at him, a glint of mischief shining in her eyes, and with one final tug his undergarments pooled at his ankles like his jeans had. Her lip trapped between her teeth, she watched him closely before she took him in her hand, leaning forward to press a light, teasing kiss on the head of his cock. “Love, stop playing these games.”

“I don’t know, Jay,” She murmured, her tongue darting out to lick the small bead of precum that collected on his head, words whispered between the kisses she left along his length. “I think you can beg a little harder than that.” And with that, she ducked her head down to lick a long strip along the underside of his cock.

“Shit,” he hissed between clenched teeth, hands running through his hair and tugging at the roots in frustration. He took a deep breath, eyes clenched close. Kiara’s teasing kisses soon changed to eager licks and suddenly she was taking the head of his cock in her mouth, tongue wrapped around him as she sucked and his hands went flying down to grip her hair. “Fucking hell!”

She hummed against him, enjoying the feeling of his finger entangled in her hair. Eager to watch him come undone, one hand moved to cup his ass, pulling him closer as she took more of his length in her mouth. She could hear his groans, almost as though they vibrated throughout his body, his hands still lingering in her hair as though he was hesitant to be too rough with her. Not accepting his reluctance, the hand that was previously wrapped around his cock lowered to firmly cup his balls—this action accompanied by her mouth keenly sucking his cock seemed to snap the little self-control JJ had and his grunts sounded heavenly as his hips thrusted to meet her tempo, hands in her hair to help Kiara keep up.

She moaned around his cock, both hands snapping to grip his thighs for support, nails digging into his skin. The ongoing party and music boomed throughout the house, muffled by the locked door and now accompanied by the mutters of praise and moans escaping JJ’s lips.

It felt like he was burning from inside out, the pleasure itself overwhelming and then to look down and see her watching him so intently. JJ could’ve sworn he felt the air be knocked out of him, his hips relentlessly thrusting into her mouth in hopes of reaching that high. It almost felt a little humiliating. He was aware of his reputation, the things people would whisper about how he was in bed, he definitely wasn’t complaining. But somehow to have him completely naked and withering under her touch, whilst she sat there, half-dressed, seeming so refined other than the hickeys forming along her neck and chest. It felt like a complete contradiction to the stories passed around campus. He usually had them coming undone beneath his touch, screaming his name and begging for more. Not the other way around.

Going against every instinct his body had, JJ pulled her off him with hands on either side on her face as he ducked down to press his lips against his, little care as his tongue worked its way into her mouth, Kiara moaning in approval. His hands fell down to her waist, gliding along the hem of her trousers before he found the buttons and quickly undid them.

In no time JJ found himself on his knees in front of her, tugging her trousers down her legs as he muttered about how unconventional her outfit choice was. She only laughed in response. Once her legs were free from the confinements, JJ slowly travelled his way back up, kissing along her skin until he reached the apex of her thighs. He felt her run her hands through his hair as he pressed a lingering kiss over her clothed cunt, but she didn’t let his teasing last long. In fact, JJ barely had time to comprehend it before he found himself lying back on the bed, watching Kiara slowly remove her panties before she began crawling towards him on the bed.

Her face was an inch from his, their grins mirrored as their lips joined for what seemed like the umpteenth time this night. His hands moved up and down her sides, fingers light and teasing, as Kiara swung her leg over him. She broke the kiss for a few moments, the buzz of the alcohol and desire coursing through her barely letting her think twice as she reached down to take a hold of his cock, a small hiss escaping his lips as she ran her thumb along his head.

Her teeth clamped down on her lip as she ran the head of his cock along her soaked entrance, a small grunt of approval sounding from JJ. “Fuck,” He murmured, his hands firmly squeezing her ass. “Fucking hell, love.”

Her gaze snapped up to look down at him, her eyes scanning his screwed expression before she pressed a lingering gaze on his lips, only pulling away enough so their breaths brushed along each other’s lips. “Jay,” She whimpered out, eyebrows drawn together as she slowly lowered herself onto his cock.

“Shit, Kiara, oh bloody hell.” He groaned out, fighting every instinct within him to close his eyes at the feeling of her warm walls clamping around him, not wanting to miss a second of her reaction. There she was, inches above him, hands on his chest and lips parted in a silent scream as she sunk down on him. When he was finally bottomed out in her, neither one of them moved, just taking a second to enjoy the moment.

Chest pressed against chest, forehead against forehead, noses brushing against each other. They laid there, the muffled cheers and blasting music from the party feeling worlds away as they simply stared at each other. This felt different, it felt far more intimate than anything either of them had ever experienced. Both have had their fair share of hook-ups and flings, JJ more so than Kie. The quick kisses and desperate touches, the fast pace and chase for that high. They had been there and done that.

But laying there, wrapped in each other’s embrace, it felt far more vulnerable than anything either of them had faced. And yet not an ounce of fear was seen between the couple, nothing but content and something far deeper, something neither one would be able to admit just yet. Something in their gazes softened, Kiara smiled down at him and JJ was unable to stop himself from smiling back. She could’ve sworn she heard him whispered ‘ _beautiful’_ under his breath, could’ve sworn she saw his lips mouth the word. And this kiss…it felt deeper, like all the words they were scared to say and admit were passed in that kiss and, for right now, the couple were okay with that.

The sweet moment, or whatever it was, didn’t last much longer as Kiara slowly began to roll her hips against his. A deep, guttural groan sounded from JJ as he let her set the pace, watching as she sat up, hands leaning back on his thighs as she moved up and down on his cock. He swore he could’ve just came at the sight of Kiara riding him, head thrown back and curls cascading around her, a sight that he would be content having plastered in his mind forever.

The slow, teasing pace only lasted so long before her bounces became a bit more needy and desperate, JJ’s hips bucking up to meet hers and moans and mantras of his name echoing through the room as Kiara clung onto anything she could as she felt herself getting closer and closer to her orgasm.

Seeing her cheeks flushed and heavenly moans leaving her lips seemed to snap something primal in JJ, the brunette barely having a moment to realise what was happening before his hands gripped her waist and their positions quickly switched.

Kiara let out a small gasp of shock, looking up at the dark expression on JJ’s face as he situated himself between her legs and hips pistoning in and out of her as though they never stopped. She clung onto him, legs wrapping around his waist, nails scratching and raking down his neck which he only seemed to egg him on further.

“Shit, JJ, please,” She whined as she stared up at him with her glossy eyes. “Please, please, fuck, please.” Words spilling out of her mouth, her mind too fuzzy to even comprehend what she was saying, the burning in her lower stomach, the tightening of that knot just desperately seeking her release.

The words seeming to spur him on, his own grunts matching her moans, his hips thrusting in and out of her, his head ducked down to take one nipple into his mouth, tongue swirling around the nub. Judging by the sounds she was making, Kiara definitely approved of the extra stimulation.

“Touch yourself, love,” He muttered against her skin, one of his hands trailing up her side and brushing against the side of her breast, thumb flicking out to tease her nipple before continuing it’s venture to gently take her hand and drag it down her own body. His eyes followed the movement, briefly pausing so he could take her fingers in his mouth, suck on them as his tongue wrapped around them, watching the dazed out expression on Kiara’s face when he trailed her wet fingers down to her clit. He could barely contain his groan. “ _Good_ _girl_.”

With his hand still covering her own, he slowly moved their fingers in small circles, his hips thrusting with each rotation. The little gasps she let out, the small whines and pleas for him to go faster seemed to spur JJ on. With one hand rubbing circles on her clit and the other scratching up his back, JJ wasted no time before the tempo of his thrusts increased again, bodies moving feverishly against each other to chase that release they both desperately needed. There was just something about the sight of Kiara beneath him, fingers nimbly playing with herself and clinging onto him as she came undone whilst he ravished in the sight of it.

Then he felt it, her walls clamping around him, the choked gasps she panted in his ear as her nails sunk into his skin. His hips continued moving, continuing to fuck her as her muscles tensed and toes curled and she clung onto him. Seconds passing and a couple of thrusts later and soon JJ was following as he felt a wave of pleasure wash over him. He couldn’t help himself as he nuzzled his face into her neck, incoherent murmurs whispered across her skin as his hips slowed down until neither one of them were moving, panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat as they took a moment to just put themselves together.

Kiara’s fingers trailed up and down his back, a small grunt and kiss on her neck telling Kie that he approved of the action. The words seemed to die down on her lips, not quite sure what to say after he had basically just fucked her in his room during a party, where everyone had clearly seen them disappear of to. She didn’t know what to say considering they broke one of the rules in their agreement, and yet Kiara could barely care about the rules in that moment. Something about having JJ between her legs seemed right, she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Though despite her body feeling limp and exhausted, JJ seemed quite the opposite as he gently rolled his hips against hers.

“JJ, I can’t—” She let out a pathetic whine, her body could barely move and yet she craved more.

“Shh, relax for me, love.” He muttered, kissing and biting her skin between words. She felt him pull out of her, a desperate noise sounding from the back of her throat as her legs tightened around him, not wanting him to move just yet. But JJ only chuckled lightly, saying no more as he continued his attack, venturing lower and lower as he went.

Kisses and fingers trailing along her sides, between her breasts and circling her nipples, lowering to her torso and sucking a small line of love bites down her stomach until JJ’s head laid between her legs. Kiara could’ve sworn her heart stopped for a moment as she watched him closely.

He looked up at her, a smug grin on his face as he placed a chaste kiss on her inner thigh. Kiara took a deep breath. He then pressed another one, and another. And just before he reached where she wanted him the most, he switched to her other thigh and she couldn’t help the small groan of annoyance that escaped.

“JJ,” She whined, her hips lifting off the bed only for JJ’s hands to quickly pin them down and remain there. “Please..”

“Please what?” He asked, his breath fanning over her cunt and she tried not to squirm.

“Do something.” She huffed out and JJ’s smirk only grew. His eyes lowered from her face down to the apex of her thighs, lip trapped between his teeth as he admired the sight of his cum spilling out of her.

“If you thought I’m a one round type of lad,” He muttered, hands squeezing her sides slightly as if to indicate for her to look at him. Her eyes caught his, her mouth going dry at the sight. “Then you are in for a treat tonight, love. Now be a good girl and keep your legs open for me.” And with that he ducked his head down to swipe his tongue along her slit, unable to restrain the groan that escaped at the taste of the two of them together.

An embarrassingly loud moan escaped her lips as her fingers tangled into his hair, tugging him closer to her. Kiara had heard the rumours of how good JJ Maybank was with his fingers and mouth, had always rolled her eyes and claimed those girls were over-exaggerating. But he had given her one orgasm and a pretty damn good one at that, and here he was between her thighs, adding another one to the scoreboard with no plans of stopping anytime soon.

It’s safe to say that Kiara learnt just how _real_ and _accurate_ those rumours about JJ Maybank in bed were that night.

Kiara had expected the days following the Valentine’s Day Bash to be awkward.

They were drunk, there was that aspect but not enough to forget the night they had. The alcohol buzzing through them did nothing, it was fully their choice. It was their decision to kiss on the dance floor, to go up to his room, to do it all. It was their decision to roll around in his sheets instead of heading back down to the dance. It was all on them. They had broken the rules of their agreement on their own terms and Kiara couldn’t help but feel something uncomfortably tug in her gut when she woke up the next morning to an empty bed.

Thoughts ran through her head on everything they had done, scolding herself for letting them take that step over the line and ruining the somewhat friendship they had made between them. Her head was pounding, though she wasn’t sure if that was because of her hangover or because of the consequences of their actions fully hitting her. How could she move on from this? How could _they_ move on from this?

She had fully considered just shoving her clothes on and making a run for the sorority house where she could sit in the comfort of her own bed and contemplate her life choices.

But then he walked in, dressed in sweatpants and t-shirt, bag in one hand and a small bottle of Advil in the other and something in her chest eased.

They didn’t talk about it. Not as they ate breakfast together in his bed. Not as they met their friends to hangout and have a casual post-dance recovery day. Not as the days passed and they slipped back into their usual timetables.

But neither of them felt the need to speak about it, like there was a mutual understanding between them. It was as though there was a shift in their dynamic, something a little more finnicky than friendship, one they didn’t know how to acknowledge just yet but were content to have. However, the shift between them was more than just emotional…it lingered into lingering touches and interference of their personal space.

Kiara learnt very early on that JJ loved his physical touch. Not even in a romantic or sexual setting, just in general. The blond was an affectionate person. She noticed it with his friends, how he would casually throw an arm around John B or playfully nudge Pope or rest his head against Sarah’s shoulder while they were just chilling. He just liked touch. And as the time passed and boundaries fell, Kiara soon found herself on the receiving end of that affection. She told herself that it was purely for the agreement at first, that he was playing his part as an affectionate boyfriend. She happily returned the gesture.

Then they reached their weird stage of friendship and the touches became less planned and more casual, more real. She didn’t think twice when she grabbed his hand and fiddled with the rings that adorned his fingers, or when he would lay his head on her lap and murmur for her to play with his hair. She didn’t think twice when he would throw his arm around her and pull her closer, or when she would casually throw a leg over his lap while they were chilling with their friends. She didn’t think twice when she pulled him into a hug and laid her head on his chest, or when he would kiss her cheek at every greeting and departure. It became instinctual, almost like a comfort to have that touch between them. And since the Valentine’s Day Bash…the touches felt as though they meant so much more than friendship.

Maybe that was because they passed that line and no longer cared for the rule they made at the start of the agreement. Or maybe it was because their bodies craved to attain the same levels of intimacy it had that night. Or maybe it just felt so unexplainably _right_ to kiss JJ and not think twice about it. Maybe she desired to just straddle his lap and grab his face and make out with him and not have to worry about consequences because he too returned it with the same level of passion and fever.

Maybe because neither one of them wanted to admit how they truly felt and the physical intimacy made up for the fact they were both avoiding their feelings.

Kiara barely blinked an eye at their shift in dynamic and instead embraced the change happily. It felt right and it didn’t harm anyone and they seemed to be on the same page for everything, so why should they need to talk about it?

Both of them were perfectly content in the way their relationship was.

She let the thoughts brush over her head as she made her way to the frat house, lightly humming some random tune that had been stuck in her head since Tess had been playing it every morning in the car for the last week. She had stopped by to grab some coffees and muffins before she headed to JJ’s place, prepared to help him study for his upcoming chemistry mid-term.

She greeted the boys she passed on the way up to JJ’s room, none of them shocked or surprised by her arrival considering it had been a common occurrence since they agreed on Kiara being his study buddy. Most of them were fairly friendly, some she even considered friends beforehand but she still felt the lingering gazes of curiosity from the odd frat boy here and there. It’s been weeks and still some of them couldn’t grasp onto the idea that JJ and Kiara were dating, not that she blamed them. She too would’ve been confused if you had told her a two months ago that she would be dating JJ Maybank. In fact, she would’ve laughed in your face before slapping some sense into you.

She made her way up the stairs, it was basically muscle memory at this point as she approached his door, knocking three times before she swung the door open and sauntered in. Like she always did.

“Hey, the café had those lemon muffins you like so I got a—” The words instantly died down when Kiara lifted her head up to see JJ at his desk, sitting there in some casual attire of sweater and some sweatpants. He was even wearing his glasses too after Kiara found out he didn’t wear them as much as he should and insisted he should get into the habit of doing so. His hair was dishevelled and messy as though he had just woken up and ran a hand through it in an attempt to maintain it (which he probably did). It was a look she found that she preferred on JJ, when he was relaxed and barely blinked an eye at his appearance.

But that wasn’t the sight that caused her to freeze up. It was the fact his laptop was opened in front of him, the face of another woman that looked oddly familiar on the screen, both of them sharing an amused look as they looked at Kiara.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were on the phone,” She murmured, cheeks flushed as she gave him a sheepish smile. “I’ll wait downstairs—”

“It’s fine, Kie, c’mere,” JJ laughed as he nodded for her to come in. She smiled softly as she closed the door behind her with her foot before making her way over to his desk. She placed the coffee and bag of muffins on the desk before turning to JJ, who only rolled his eyes and pulled her down on his lap. Kiara tried to hide the smile on her face as she adjusted her arm to rest on his shoulder, getting comfortable in the spot. “Mum’s been bothering me about you anyways.”

Kiara tried to refrain herself from looking shocked when she heard the word ‘mum’ leave JJ’s lips. She glanced over at the screen, seeing the woman on the other side grinning back. She didn’t look old enough to be a mother, in fact only now when she was close enough to the screen could she see the faint wrinkles on her skin, the worry lines that probably formed by having to raise a menace like JJ. The familiarity was obvious now, because JJ looked exactly like her. The same smile, the same face shape, the same nose and lips. The similarities were uncanny, though his mother’s features were much softer than his. The only striking difference was that instead of the sharp blue she was used to seeing, his mother had warm, gentle light brown eyes, like pools of honey.

Even as they stared at her now, she couldn’t help but feel those nerves wash over her at the fact she was meeting JJ’s mother for the first time. It was odd, considering their whole agreement revolved around JJ spending time around her parents and yet never once did the concept of Kiara meeting his parents ever cross her mind. She felt like she walked into a battle unprepared.

“Ooh isn’t she beautiful,” A strong accent came through, similar to JJ’s but much clearer. She guessed his accent had somewhat diluted over the time he spent in the states. “JJ wasn’t lying when he said you were a stunner.”

“Mama, stop embarrassing me in front of my girl,” JJ whined slightly, his face nuzzled into Kiara’s shoulders as both of them laughed at his red cheeks. Kiara tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “That wasn’t exactly meant to be shared.” He huffed out. “Mum meet Kiara. Kiara meet my _cruel_ mother.”

“I’m only saying what you told me!” His mother retorted with a mischievous glint that mirrored JJ’s.

Kiara raised her brows in amusement. “Oh no, please continue. What else has he said about me?” She asked and his mother let out a hearty laugh.

“No wonder you’ve got yer shit together, this one’s probably keeping yer head out of your arse.” His mother grinned and Kiara couldn’t help but return the gesture, despite the blond who was currently hiding his flustered face behind Kiara, arms tightening around her as a silent plea to stop. “It’s lovely to meet you, hun. I’m a bit disappointed it took us this long to meet.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs Maybank,” Kiara said with a smile, her voice being the one she usually reserved for professors and elders. “I mean, we’ve only been together for a short time so I’m sure JJ didn’t want to—”

“Pfft, are you bloody kidding me? I’ve had to listen to that idiot yap on about you for years,” His mother scoffed with a dismissive wave. “Since the first bloody phone call I got from him in the states. I’m just glad that after everything it’s finally paid off. It’s less creepy when yer his girlfriend, ya know?”

“Mum, I will hang up on you.” He muttered in annoyance, a silent conversation playing between the two as they stared at each other.

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop teasin’,” She sighed dramatically. “Could ya blame me?! You’ve been hogging the lass all to yourself!” She added with a pointed look but JJ only responded with an innocent smile. Kiara couldn’t help but snort a little at the sight. JJ pinched her side in retaliation.

“JESSE!” An excited voice sounded through the speakers and Kiara saw a small head pop up before a young girl—maybe around six or seven years old—sat in front of the camera, grinning and showcasing a missing tooth. She had the mischievous glint that all Maybanks seemed to possess but other than that, there seemed to be little similarities between her and JJ. Though her eyes shone brightly to match the older woman beside her.

The blond let out a small chuckle, his head popping up to rest against Kiara’s shoulder as he grinned at the young girl on the phone. “There’s my second favourite sister!”

“I’m your only sister.” She sassed with a pointed look and Kiara laughed.

“Oh yeah, must’ve forgot about that.” He sighed with a small shrug but the young girl wasn’t having it. “Sorry, Sneezie.”

“Mum, tell him to stop calling me that!” The young girl whined as she turned to her mother with a pout. The older woman only looked amused at the situation.

“JJ, play nice.” She scolded playfully before she manoeuvred the camera so they could now see both of them on screen. The girl only now seemed to notice Kiara, her head tilting in the confusion.

“Who’s sitting on Jesse’s lap?” She asked, her voice squeaking a little at the end of the question. Kiara would’ve found it cute if the young girl’s gaze wasn’t intimidating, she swore she could feel the glare through the phone.

“Hi, I’m Kiara,” She said with a warm smile, giving a little wave. “I’m your brother’s…friend.”

“So, you’re his girlfriend.” The girl deadpanned and Kiara tried to blush, laughing a little when she nodded.

“Uh, yeah. I’m his girlfriend.” She confirmed, a little embarrassed. This girl seemed far too smart for her age.

“Are you a princess?”

“No.”

“A knight?”

“Oh god, no.”

“Do you have a secret kingdom that you fight for?”

“Not that I remember.” 

“Hmm, interesting.” The young girl hummed, finger pressed to her chin as she watched Kiara carefully. She tried not to squirm under the gaze of a child. “Jesse said that you were as pretty as a princess. He said that you were strong enough to beat any knight. Looks like Jesse is a big fat liar.”

Now it was JJ’s turn to blush, muttering under his breath how ‘every bloody woman seemed to be after him’ today.

Kiara smiled and leaned closer to the laptop, as though she was about to share a secret with the young girl that nobody else could hear. “Nobody can know about my secret kingdom otherwise the ogres will find me!” She said in a hushed voice, watching as the young girl’s eyes lit up. She eagerly leaned closer to hear more. “JJ only knows because I had to save him from the clutches of an evil witch who tried to cook him alive!”

“Woah, really?” She asked excitedly.

“Jesus Christ, don’t sound too bloody eager at my demise.” JJ piped up, eyes narrowing slightly at his sister but she just waved him away.

“Do you have dragons in your kingdom?” She asked, her eyes shining with that distinct childlike wonder that Kiara couldn’t help but smile at.

“Lots of them! Good ones and bad ones and strong ones.” Kiara told her, and it all felt so casual. Talking away to his little sister and his mother, as though she had done it plenty of times before. It was how they spent the next hour, conversing and laughing whilst Victoria—his mother—told her stories on how JJ was as a child. Louise—or as she is more commonly called, Wheezie—had plenty to say at her brother. And though he groaned and scoffed at every embarrassing story, she saw the way his eyes warmed when he heard his mother laugh or how his smile widened when Wheezie would tell him that she told her whole class that her brother was a professional football player.

It was heart-warming to see JJ in such an environment. Yet, that seemed to be the shocking part of the last few weeks. Just how different JJ was from the version she, and most other people in campus, knew him as. He was viewed as a lady’s man, a player, the all-star athlete. He was known for being cocky and arrogant and suave and flirtatious. He was known for his quick remarks and witty responses.

However, in the weeks they had been spending together, she saw a different JJ. Or maybe he was the same JJ but in a new light. The one that would joke around with his friends. The one that would notice even the smallest shifts in their mood and lookout for them. The one that could sit here and talk to his mother and little sister for hours. The one that cares so deeply for these select people that he trusts them enough to show them the deeper sides of himself. And somehow, she had become one of those people.

“Right, we should let the sprogs get back to studying,” Victoria eventually sighed, smiling sadly as the pout on Wheezie’s face. “Kiara, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you, hopefully one day it will be in person.”

“Fingers crossed, Mrs Maybank.” She said with a genuine smile on her lips, any thoughts about her agreement with JJ and its eventual end was far from her mind.

“Please, call me Victoria.” The older woman added with a kind smile. “And harass my son to phone his mother more often!”

“Will do, Mrs—Victoria.” Kiara replied and she felt JJ’s arms tighten around her waist, feel him smiling against her shoulder.

“Right, Mum, love you, bye.” JJ called out, finally showing his full face on screen as he gave him mother a warm but cheeky smile.

“Love you too.” She called out before nudging Wheezie on her lap. The young girl sighed before she turned to the camera, a sad smile on her face.

“Luv you, Jesse,” She said to her brother and the small break in her voice honestly killed Kiara a little. “Come back soon!”

JJ’s face softened. “Love you too, kid. I’ll be back before you know it.” He reassured her before he finally hung up. He let out a soft sigh and when Kiara turned to look at him, she noticed the small frown on his face.

“When was the last time you went back home?” She asked him, her tone gentle. She didn’t want him to think she was prying.

“Uh,” JJ sniffled a little before he glanced up at her. She noticed the way his arms tensed around her waist and placed a comforting hand on them, her thumb rubbing small and hopefully reassuring circles on his arm. “I was meant to go back for Christmas but money was pretty tight so…”

“When?” She asked once again.

“Last July.” And she could’ve sworn she heard the small stutter in his words, the painful realisation that it had been over half a year since he last saw his family.

“Jay…” She breathed out and an unreadable emotion passed through his eyes before he shook his head, clearing his throat a little.

“We should start studying, got a lot to cram in with electron orbitals and stuff.” He said before he turned to look at Kie, a slight pleading look on his face. Maybe because it hurt too much to talk about or maybe he just didn’t want to go down that route with her. Either way she respected his decision and gave him a comforting smile, one that she hoped he knew meant that when he was ready, she would be there to listen.

“Alright then,” She said as she hopped off his lap and grabbed one of his textbooks from his desk before she turned to him with a grin. “Don’t blame me when you’re crying because electromagnetic radiation has melted your brain.” And she was glad to see him return the smile. She could’ve sworn something in her heart stuttered a little at the sight of it.

Turns out JJ would regret his insistence to study. Many hours and coffee cups later, the couple found themselves sitting on the floor of JJ’s room, sheets and books and flashcards sprawled out around them. The blond was currently laying in the middle of the mess, a pout on his lips as he let out a low whine when Kiara asked him to define a term he was sure she had just made up—it did not sound real.

“This is torture,” He muttered as he turned to look at her through narrowed eyes. “This should be illegal. Do you bloody Americans find some sadistic pleasure in this kind of torture?”

“This isn’t an America thing, dumbass,” She laughed as she lightly nudged his side with her foot. “This is a universal torturing method.”

“I blame aliens, stupid little twats.” He scoffed and Kiara only rolled her eyes in response. “I should’ve just take some bullshit class like astronomy. I mean, c’mon, what’s on that exam anyways? ‘ _Samantha was born whilst Mercury was in retrograde, what’s her moon sign?’._ Piss easy!”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Do you mean astrology?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“No, you said astronomy.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Astronomy is the study of celestial objects and phenomena,” She stated whilst JJ looked at her with a look which looked a quite lost puppy-ish. “Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims that celestial objects have an effect on human affairs.”

“Pfft, both look at stars and spurt some bullshit,” He dismissed with a sigh. “Bet either one of them would’ve been easier than whatever mad bloke came up with chemistry.” She decided not to mention that chemistry was involved in astronomy.

“God, you’re such a Scorpio.” She retorted and he gave her a pointed look.

“And you’re such a sasquatch.” He countered, puffing his chest out as though he had any idea on what he was talking about.

She laughed. “Do you mean Sagittarius?”

“I stand by what I said.” He muttered defiantly, and judging by the way he was laying down with his hands behind his hand and little concern for the books around him, she guessed their study session for the night was done.

“I think you severely underestimate stars.” She commented as she began to pile the papers and notebooks into a neat pile before he squashed the notes they had worked on all day.

“They are just blobs of light in the sky, love, stop trying to make it deeper than it is.” JJ replied, turning his head to watch her though he made no move to help. Little bastard.

“They are much more than that, you’re just not opening your mind to it.” She retorted and he raised his brows in amusement.

“Opening my mind?” He snickered but she barely thought twice about it as she stood up.

“Do you have a car?” She asked and his smirk slowly fell to a confused frown.

“Uh, I’ve got keys to JB’s van?”

“Perfect!” She grinned, lightly nudging his leg with her foot before she moved to gran her shoes and jacket. He watched her for a few moments before following suit, though his moves slightly hesitant. He noted that she made no move to collect her books or bag, not even her phone.

“You’ve got your scheming face on,” He muttered as he grabbed his keys from the drawer beside his bed before handing them to an eager looking Kiara. “It’s honestly quite bloody worrying.”

“I am going to open your mind, Maybank.” She stated confidently, grabbing his hand the second he slipped on his shoes and jacket. He barely had time to think about taking anything else with him before they found themselves in John B’s van—who JJ chose to avoid mentioning that was named Twinkie—heading to god knows where.

“Is this the part where you drive me to a secluded area and tell me that this whole thing was a ploy to kill me?” He watched her closely from the passenger seat, leaning back on the door as she drove. She was far more interesting to look at than the passing view.

“Damn, you caught me,” She commented dryly, but he saw her lip twitch a little. “It’s been three years in the making. I mean, how could I let a Brit walk amongst us and do nothing about it?”

“Jesus Christ, love, could’ve just deported me.”

“Didn’t feel as dramatic.”

“Fair enough.”

The conversation pretty much died after that, the couple comfortable in the silence between them. Kiara humming along to whatever song was playing from the radio, JJ content in watching her with the odd glance out the window in hopes of figuring out where the hell they were going. He asked her a couple of times, full on childish whine _“are we there yet?”_ but it didn’t seem to get him anywhere. But there was something about it that just warmed JJ a little, made the butterflies in his stomach flutter at the comfortable domesticity. It was so casual, so natural. Just the two of them, conversation barely needed. It felt nice…it felt right.

He barely noticed that the van had stopped until Kiara turned to him with an excited grin, muttering something before she quickly opened the door and slipped out. JJ soon followed suit, glancing around only to find they were…in the middle of nowhere.

“Wait, you aren’t actually gonna kill me, right?” JJ asked with a nervous look on his face, yet Kiara simply rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand and began walking up the small hill they had parked in front of. He tried to maintain his grin when she intertwined her fingers with his. When they reached the top, she quickly pulled him down to sit next to her. “Kie, what are we doing here?”

“To open your mind,” She told him, tugging his hand once again until he eventually laid back on the grass with her. She turned her head only to find him staring at her. “Look, Jay.” She muttered and tilted his face to look up at the night sky. He opened his mouth, sassy comment on the tip of his tongue but he found himself choking on his own words when he saw the sight above him.

“Holy shit.” He breathed out, eyes wide with awe as he stared at the night sky. Stars. So many fucking stars. More than he had ever seen in his life. Thousands of them littering the night sky above him. Some shining brighter than others, some clustered in small groups and others alone. JJ could barely recall a time he had ever seen them so clearly, maybe on his school trip to the planetarium when he was seven but that was a projection…this was real.

“When I first started college,” Kiara spoke up, her voice soft as she broke the silence that had fallen between them as JJ took in the starry night sky. “I told myself I wouldn’t be too bothered by people knowing who I was and that I could deal with it. I learnt pretty quickly that I was a little too ambitious with that. One day I just got in my car and drove…just drove and drove and somehow I ended up here, on this hill and…” She trailed off for a second and JJ found himself tearing his eyes away to look at her instead. She was still looking at the sky, a content smile on her face, eyes shining in nostalgia. “I thought about dropping out after those first few weeks, as much as the idea of running back to my parents and telling them they were right would’ve killed my pride…it just got too much.” She admitted and he felt her squeeze his hand. He squeezed back. “I don’t know what it was about this hill but something just felt right, it felt…it felt like the escape I needed.”

“It’s beautiful.” He whispered, eyes still trained on her.

She pressed her lips together. “I’ve never brought anyone here.”

“Thank you for trusting me.” And she finally turned to look at him, eyes shining with an emotion he couldn’t quite read. It was as though she was conflicted, contemplating some inner battle that he could only guess.

“A couple of weeks ago you asked me why I went to all of this trouble to keep my parents away.” She stated and he nodded a little in recognition.

“It wasn’t any of my business—” But she quickly interrupted him.

“It was, though,” She admitted and gave him a sheepish smile, as though for the first time in his life he had just heard Kiara Carrera admit she was wrong. “Ever since I was a child, my parents always found a way to ruin the things I loved. Never maliciously or on purpose but…I think they felt guilty about not being the most present parents that they started to overcompensate on the odd chance they were around. I gave up so much because of them and the idea of them doing that to this was just…”

“Unbearable?”

She smiled a little.

“Yeah,” She breathed out, maybe because it felt good to finally get it off her chest or maybe because there was some relief in speaking the words out loud even if JJ wouldn’t understand. “I…I found friends here, found a family here that I didn’t want to lose. And doing all of _this_ , taking these drastic measures seemed necessary to protect that.”

“So getting a terrible fake boyfriend was the only solution to scare your parents away from your chosen family?” His brows raised in amusement, but there was no judgement in his words. Just curiosity.

“God, I sound like a spoilt brat.” She muttered, and the hand that wasn’t intertwined with his came to cover her face. A small laugh escaped his lips and he reached over to pull it away.

“No, no,” He assured but when she gave him a pointed look, he didn’t giggle slightly. “Okay, maybe a little bit. But it’s for a respectable reason.” He added and his own grin widened when he saw her finally smile. “Plus, without it, we would still be at each other’s throats.”

“Ah, how I miss those days.” She sighed dreamily, snickering when JJ shoved her shoulder slightly. “Maybe this whole thing did have some perks.” She muttered and gave him a soft but genuine smile. JJ felt something in his heart strain, like someone had squeezed his heart and suddenly it was hard to think or breathe or do anything but just stare at her smile. He didn’t know how long he was even staring at her or what spell she had put over him because soon enough JJ found the words leaving his lips and they didn’t stop.

“I was six years old when I first saw my dad hit my mum,” He breathed out. He watched the smile on Kiara’s face slowly drop, he almost expected her to get up and walk away. But she didn’t. She laid there and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He needed this, just like she needed to rant about her parents. He needed to tell someone, get the last fifteen years of secret keeping off his chest. “I didn’t know what was going on, to be honest, I—”

“It’s okay.” She whispered to him when he paused, giving him a nod. His hand squeezed hers tighter.

“I was at football practice,” He began once again, eyebrows furrowed as he shifted to look down at their joined hands. It was easier than staring at her, she tended to be a bit of a distraction. She made him lose his train of thought. “It ended early and it was only a couple of blocks so I thought I’d just walk, ya know? Didn’t want to get a ride from one of my mate’s parents, my dad tended to get pissed if I did. So, I just walked, it only took a few minutes, but when I got home…” He took a minute to collect his thoughts.

“I heard the screaming first, then glass smashing. I thought…I thought someone had broken in and for some fucking reason I thought _‘hey I’ve read enough comics, I can deal with a bad guy’_ and so I snuck in, the door was a bit open so it was pretty easy,” He continued, and JJ could’ve sworn he was standing there again. Sneaking into the house, young and naive, not knowing the horrors he was about to see. “Then I saw it…I saw him standing over her, he was yelling something and he had this broken beer bottle and…god the _fucking_ blood—”

Kiara lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. She couldn’t do much more, he needed to do this at his own pace. The least she could do is remind him that she was there, she was listening and he could take all the time he needed.

“Mum yelled at me to go to my room, told me to stay there until she came.” He pressed his lips together, eyes still fixed on their hands that now rested against her chest. “I hid in my closet for three hours until she came. And…god, when she did—” He took a deep breath. “There was still bruises forming, still blood dripping down her face but she _needed_ to know I was okay.”

“Jay…” She whispered, not even sure what she could say. Only hours ago she was talking to his mum, a woman who seemed so strong and now that Kiara knew what she survived, that appreciation only grew.

“It got worse,” He murmured, and though he could feel the tears beginning to burn in his eyes, he begged his body not to cry. He needed to say this, he needed to let it off his chest. “He wanted to keep me quiet, make sure I didn’t tell anyone so he…” Though the words trailed off, Kiara knew exactly what his father burned and something inside her ached. JJ who was only a child, having to deal with this. JJ who had kept this all to himself for years and let it eat him alive.

“Turns out dad got involved in some dodgy business and pissed off the wrong people,” JJ muttered and there was an iciness in his words, a bitter tone that she didn’t doubt that no matter how much time passed, JJ would never say those words with anything but the harshness. “He fucked off like the coward he is. They decided to come over and take it out on my mum, to send a message.”

There was a moment of silence and then a sniffle from JJ.

“She almost died that day, Kiara,” He whimpered out and tears be damned, he let them run down his cheeks as he finally looked up at her. Her heart strained at the sight, so desperate to do whatever she could to stop it. “I almost lost her.”

Kiara wasted no time in pulling him into her, his head now on her chest as she wrapped her arms around him, and just held him. She could feel the tears soaking her shirt, could feel her own eyes watering but she made no move to wipe them away or let him go.

“That was the last straw,” He continued, his voice a little softer and tamer than before, the iciness now gone. “She knew that the next time it wouldn’t just be her but me too. So she went to the police, got a restraining order and filed for a divorce as soon as she could.”

“Your mother is a strong woman.” She murmured to him.

“The strongest.” He replied with no hesitation. “Things were shit for a bit, he never let her get her own job so she had a bit of a struggle to get one with flexible hours so I wouldn’t be home alone too often. It was a tough period, some nights I think she would just lie to me and say things were getting better so I wouldn’t worry about it.” JJ sniffled a little before he lifted his head to look at her, a softer expression on his face.

“Then she met Arthur when I was thirteen,” He said with a small smile on his lips, small but affectionate. “He…he was everything she deserved and more. I don’t think I had ever seen my mum so happy.”

“She deserved that happiness,” Kiara commented. “So did you.”

“I was looking into scholarships for schools and universities, money was tight but I knew I wanted to do _something_ with my life…I knew I didn’t want to be like my no-good father,” He huffed out. “It felt better knowing mum had Arthur with her.” He admitted before his smile grew wider.

“And then Wheezie came into the picture,” He said with a soft chuckle. “It’s wild to think about how much her life, our lives have changed since I was six but…I don’t know…there was a point where she was all I had and I was all she had,” His voice lowered slightly. “I’m happy for her and Arthur and Wheezie but…”

“Sometimes you miss when it was just the two of you?” Kiara finished and he looked at her, somewhat surprised at how well she read him and yet impressed nonetheless.

“Does that make me a bad person?” He murmured, biting down on his lip. However, Kiara raised one of her hands to gently cup his cheek, her thumb running over his cheek before she lowered it to gently pull his lip from between his teeth.

“No,” She replied honestly and shook her head. “It just means you care about your mother, and that you miss her. And that you’re a good son.”

“Don’t always feel like it.” He admitted honestly, and she remembered Victoria mentioning that JJ hadn’t been calling as much lately.

“She understands, Jay. Trust me, she doesn’t think you’re a bad son, no one does.” She whispered and he looked at her, something flashing in his eyes that she didn’t quite know how to interpret. “Thank you for trusting me with your story, JJ.”

“Only felt fair.” He said with a crooked smile but she shook her head.

“You didn’t have to, but you did. And I’m glad you did,” She admitted, her other hand coming to cup his other cheek. “And I’m grateful that you moved on from your father, that you built a life for yourself. I’m grateful of the man you’ve become.” She added and something in JJ snapped. He didn’t know what she meant by those words. If she meant that she was grateful of how far he had come or how he had grown from his shitty childhood. If she meant that she was grateful for the son he had become to such a strong woman who had been through way too much, or how he had managed to finally open up about his life after years of bottling it up. He didn’t know how she meant it but something about hearing those words, hearing someone validate and recognise everything he had been through and how he still managed to come out the other end. “I’m grateful you’re in my life, Jay.”

JJ leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, no second thought about it. His hands on the grass beside her head to keep his weight somewhat distributed, his eyes shut because maybe he was slightly nervous at what her reaction would be like. Though things have changed since the Valentine’s Day Bash, this was still a bit of a jump. The kisses had always been shared around other people. There had always been someone there for them to justify it. But now it was just him, Kiara and the stars to witness as he kissed her like he bloody meant it.

And the stars watched as she kissed him back just as passionately.

Hands on his cheeks, lips moving feverishly against each other, unspoken words passed between them. This kiss was just for them, their secret under the stars. Their moment. And when they pulled back, barely inches away from each other, grins wide and threatening to hurt their cheeks, the stars watched on keenly.

“Not to ruin the moment,” Kiara muttered, her fingers running through his hair to push it away from his face. He leaned into the action. “But the dinner the other night with Rafe…how did he know about your dad?” She asked quietly, not wanting the smile on his face to leave.

“He doesn’t really,” JJ admitted, eyebrows furrowed together slightly as though the matter still confused him. “To be honest, I think he’s just a petty rich boy that was pissed he wasn’t captain and must’ve tried to find some dirt on me.” The dismissive shrug that followed his words made Kiara frown.

“God, rich people can be the fucking worse.” She scoffed, even as the memory of that dinner and how they treated JJ flashed through her mind, it still wound her up.

“Hm, true,” JJ muttered, his words more playful as he grinned down at her. He tilted his head, lifting a hand to gently push a curl behind her ear, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek as he did so. “But some of them aren’t so bad.”

“Oh really?” She asked and he only nodded his head, humming in agreement.

“Yeah, there’s this one lass, she’s pretty fit,” He said, his eyes trailing down to her lips before returning to her eyes. “Solid five out of ten.”

“Fuck off!” She snorted, lightly shoving his face to the side but he only lowered his head to nuzzle into her shoulder.

“Kidding, kidding,” JJ laughed, pressing a few chaste kisses on her neck. “You’re a stunner, Kiara.”

“Glad you think so.” She mused as he lifted his head back up, eyes once again trained on her lips.

“This is the part where you compliment me, you know.” He noted but she gave him a shrug.

“I’d rather do this.” She muttered before pulling his face back down to hers, grinning as she kissed him under the stars once again.

And the stars happily blinked in response.


End file.
